The new performance space: Drive-in theatre in Nigeria and cultural pedagogy

Abstract In the aftermath of a challenging pandemic that impacted entertainment and social order, there has been a paradigm shift in the way theatre artists respond to emerging realities. This study examines the novel trend of drive-in theatre in Nigeria as an artistic response, exploring how drive-in theater could serve as a catalyst for cultural pedagogy by fostering the preservation and dissemination of Nigerian culture, facilitating social cohesion, and fostering artistic innovation. With references to the reception of two drive-in performances staged at two locations: metropolitan Abuja, North Central Nigeria, and the semi-urban University of Nigeria, Nsukka campus, South East Nigeria, the paper illustrates how culturally responsive Nigerian theatre directors adapted their creative platforms to extend the discussion on cultural values and cosmic harmony in a contemporary age where cultural values are conflicted. Highlighting the socio-cultural impact of the selected performances, the study adopts Baz Kershaw’s ecological theory to reveal the pedagogical implications of the innovative approach in an ecologically vulnerable world. Emphasizing how such interventionist strategy tackles fading cultural values and ecological disharmony, the study argues that drive-in theatre could advance aesthetic and environmental purposes while bolstering important cultural values.

Chinenye Amonyeze completed his first degree in drama and holds master's and doctorate degrees in dramatic criticism from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he is a senior lecturer at the Department of Theatre and Film Studies.He has been a Fulbright visiting researcher at the University of Kansas, USA and an AHP/ACLS Fellow/resident scholar at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.His primary research area is on performance aesthetics, socio-drama, and media effects.His research on new female directors in Nollywood reflects his keen interest in how social forces and the media significantly impact cultural identity.Ogochukwu Agbo lectures at the Institute of African Studies, UNN.She is a doctoral student in Theatre and Cultural Administration and has published articles in applied theatre and gender studies journals.She has research interests in Gender Studies and Theatre-in-Education. Adeola is a Masters student in Acting and Directing at the Department of Theatre and Film Studies, UNN.She is interested in dramaturgy and the evolving influence of digital theatre.She has a strong interest in how performances aid understanding of diversity while retaining the ability to reflect authenticity

PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT
The COVID-19 pandemic affected entertainment and shaped how theatre artists facing the ban on public entertainment in physical spaces and other preventive measures, created drama productions to be viewed by audiences in the safe comfort of their cars.This study examines the new trend of drive-in theatre in Nigeria as an artistic response, examining how drive-in theater could be used as a teaching tool to impart cultural knowledge and encourage environmental harmony.The research highlights how theatre could be used to disseminate Nigerian culture, facilitate social cohesion, and inculcate artistic innovation.With references to the reception of two drive-in performances staged at two locations: metropolitan Abuja, Northern Nigeria, and the semi-urban University of Nigeria, Nsukka, South East Nigeria, the paper illustrates how culturally responsive Nigerian theatre directors adapted their creative platforms to extend the discussion on cultural values and cosmic harmony in a contemporary age where cultural values are conflicted.
performances, the study adopts Baz Kershaw's ecological theory to reveal the pedagogical implications of the innovative approach in an ecologically vulnerable world.Emphasizing how such interventionist strategy tackles fading cultural values and ecological disharmony, the study argues that drive-in theatre could advance aesthetic and environmental purposes while bolstering important cultural values.

Introduction
The creative faculty to think outside the box, and the ability to implement one's imagination is what imbues humanity with its basic essence.The instinct to innovate fresh ways to survive has been fundamental to the evolution of mans in his environment.Megginson (1963, p. 4) states that, "it is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is best able to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself".Globalization has engendered profound anthropological changes, economic imbalances and new spaces filled with contradictions and ideological thrusts.With the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic causing many entertainment venues to shut down worldwide, drive-in theatre became a medium to bring people together to be entertained while observing social distance protocols.Drive-in theatre has become an entertainment alternative across the world, and Nigeria is not lagging behind as it has welcomed this new performance space.A theatrical performance in all ramifications demands the comingling and interdependence of "organisms-in-environment".The basic success and viability of theatre in any society depends on the root system of its originating society; its culture and value system, and also its adaptability to a rapidly evolving world.In the face of a threatened social life, a paradigm shift is vital as local creative artists learn to consolidate and adapt to new social contexts.
Centre for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition: CARLA (2019) defines culture as, "learned and shared human patterns or models for living; day-to-day living patterns.These patterns and models pervade all aspects of human social interaction.Culture is mankind's primary adaptive mechanism".Culture is acquired through experiential and/or pedagogical knowledge, and by implication, all humans inevitably inherit culture and nature (Kershaw, 2007, p. 15).Naibei (2014, p. 2) maintains that: Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behaviour acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their embodiment in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional (i.e.historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their attached values; culture systems may, on the one hand, be considered as products of action, on the other, as conditional elements of future action.
Naibei's assertion implies that culture serves as a vital manual for behaviour, language, way of dressing, and other activities.
Entertainment is a communal enterprise drawing people from different ethnic groups and social classes into the same space for a specific period and purpose.The entertainment sector is arguably one of the most affected sectors of the world in the face of a challenging pandemic like COVID-19.With about 6,321,655 deaths recorded as of 21 March 2023(World Health Organization, 2022), the pandemic has contributed to depression, hunger, poverty, and decline in economic activities.It has also elicited a shift in social behaviour due to preventive measures instituted by governments globally to reduce physical contact and curtail the disease.The stringency with which these countermeasures were implemented, especially the ban on social activities, traumatized the Nigerian populace in no small measure.Meyer et al. (2022) note that disavowal of critical public health information was a coping strategy in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak.Meyer et al. (2022, p. 11) explain that the COVID-related information boom also heightened COVID-19 related "fear and anxiety".Thus, "higher levels of information search directly led to increased perceived stress levels" (Meyer et al., 2022, p. 11). Clark et al. (2020, p. 79) observe that at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic concern for individual's private healthcare became a hallmark of social behavior and fuel for stress with no channel for venting.Indeed theatre goers fall into the category of people who might have experienced higher levels of COVID-19 related and perceived stress.This situation derives from the antithetic mode of COVID-19 control measures and what might be described as the pandemic live theatre.Theatre, as an entertainment centre featured prominently in the list of baned activities as a popular watering hole for audiences just as schools, football stadia, clubs, restaurants, cinemas, churches etc. also faced lockdown measures.To cushion the economic effects arising from suspended activities, service industries implemented measures to stay in business, thus engendering emergence of new working modes and coping strategies.Theatre in Nigeria, as a strategic part of the entertainment industry, also dynamically realigned in order to cope with destabilizing forces.This essay explores the emergence of the drive-in theatre in Nigeria as a new performance space and the implication for cultural pedagogy.Drive-in theatre, traditionally associated with the Western world, have gained popularity in Nigeria in recent years, providing a unique platform for entertainment, cultural expression, and education.However, its emergence cannot be removed from the restrictive effects of COVID-19 on theatrical activities which compelled producers' search for a creative alternative.
Variously described as a writer who "in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence" (Motsa, 2005, p. 6), Soyinka uses literature as a dramatic liberation tool to articulate social dislocation and advocate a reorientation of cultural values.This paper attempts a "green cultural" examination of Wole Soyinka's Childe Internationale and Ola Rotimi's Grip Am by exploring how theatre and ecology could achieve mutual cultural goals through the same principles that connect and maintain their organic fidelity.The research examines the innovative drive-in-theatre in Nigeria using Rotimi's Grip Am directed by Agozie Ugwu in the commercial city of Abuja, North-East Nigeria and Soyinka's Childe Internationale directed by Kasarachi Okpeh in the semi-urban university campus of Nsukka, South-East Nigeria.The research highlights the referenced dramatic productions, as canvases of resilience reinventing Nigeria's theatre, enhancing its open staging tradition while immersing it aesthetically in a natural milieu.In appraising certain creative Nigerian artists' approaches to this innovation, the study evaluates the ecological identity markers in the referenced performances, highlighting the aesthetic fidelities that imbue the outlined performances with a truly Nigerian ambience.The paper also discusses the challenges and opportunities associated with this new performance space while suggesting strategies for maximizing its potential for cultural pedagogy.

Drive-in theatre: a short history
The term, "drive-in", could imply a restaurant, cinema, and other commercial places specially designed so that customers can use the services provided therein while in their cars.Drive-ins and Drive-throughs have largely become trendy in the face of the last pandemic.Malls, eateries, and grocery stores adopted this system to stay afloat during the period as well as save the environment.Fox (2018, p. 24) maintains that "Drive-in theatres have largely been a US phenomenon and were never more than a 'curiosity' in European countries".The drive-in cinema experience is known for its large space where customers can park their automobiles and see a movie while listening in privacy from the comfort of their cars.The first patented drive-in was inaugurated on 6 June 1933, by Richard Hollingshead in New Jersey, USA.Hollingshead described it as a solution for people unable to fit comfortably into smaller movie theatre seats.The success of the Hollingshead's drivein prompted more establishments to open in every state in the US.During the 1950s and 60s, there were over 4,000 drive-ins in the U.S (The History of Drive-In Movie Theaters and Where They Are Now, 2017).Fox and Black (2011, p. 273) reiterate the above claim in detail explaining that "until the mid-1940s, there were fewer than 100 drive-in theatres in the United States.The number of drive-ins rapidly increased in the post-war years.By 1949, there were 983 drive-ins and by 1952, there were 4,151 drive-ins".After World War II and a decline in the economy, drive-in theatre owners considered selling off their land to companies for development purposes (Fox, 2018, p. 26).
To Fox (2020, p. 86), "The COVID-19 pandemic has generated widespread interest in drive-ins partly due to the perceived safety of drive-ins relative to other forms of entertainment.This perception could be attributable to public sentiment for simpler, less dangerous avenues for fun.In Nigeria, government's isolation rule fanned the nostalgic desire for communal experience and breath of fresh air: an essential traditional African healing prescript.In Nigeria the entertainment landscape has witnessed significant transformations over the years with technological advancements and changing audience preferences compelling traditional forms of performance and cultural expression to adapt thereby evolving new platforms and media.One of such adaptation is the drive-in theatre which provided a unique blend of entertainment and cultural aphorisms.
Since theatre goers like other "individuals" might have considered "contracting COVID-19 as disruptive to their social and everyday health, prohibiting them from continuing life as 'usual' or normal" (Meyer et al., 2022, p. 11), the inevitable cautionary response was the boycotting of theatrical activities that would bring a crowd together.This sort of deprivation leads to a "feeling of not being in control" (Meyer et al., 2022, p. 11).The emergence of drive-in theatre in the country during the period of the pandemic spurred the drive for a vehicle for theatre's essential social presence and buoyed the fight to regain social control.It is worth noting that although drive-in theatre appears to be a new trend in Nigeria, there are relatable examples in its rich history such as Hubert Ogunde's mobile theatre known as Theatre on Wheels, whose tickets were booked a month before his appearance as well as the pre-colonial Yoruba traveling theatre of the 1940s.Below is a comment by a Facebook user under the post of Omoniyi Ibietan, whose description of his experience of Nigeria's first-ever drive-in theatre refers to Ogunde's pioneer contribution: One of the key advantages of drive-in theatre when harnessed is its potential to preserve and disseminate Nigerian culture.Traditional storytelling, dance, music, and theatre are integral components of Nigerian cultural heritage and drive-in theatre could provide a platform to showcase these art forms in contemporary context, ensuring longevity and accessibility of art.
Theatre is an important component of culture and up to this moment serves as pedagogical and therapeutic purposes as a mirror of society.The drive-in theatre format presents unique possibilities for artistic innovation and experimentation.It allows theatre directors, and performers to explore new ways of engaging with their audiences, utilizing the distinctive features of this performance space to stage immersive performances, integrate technology, and push the boundaries of traditional artistic practices.The performances analyzed in this study: Rotimi's Grip Am, directed and produced by Agozie Ugwu, and Soyinka's Childe Internationale directed and produced by Kasarachi Okpeh, and Ugochukwu Ugwu respectively, are site-based examples of applied theatre.In these respective dramatic productions, random spaces like the Silverbird Cinema car park, Abuja, and the Freedom Square, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, were converted into therapeutic spaces for communal interaction, and detachment from the suffocating restrictions imposed by the pandemic's social distance policy.The results of these drive-in theatre productions confirmed the view of Francis Duru (2020), a veteran Nigerian actor, that although we were "locked down, our creativity was not knocked down . . ." Kershaw (2007, p. 12) avers that "all human life is theatricalized and dramatized, including, crucially, its interactions with other species and the environment".An "ecology of performance is one that subverts the culturally inherited separation between humans and the biosphere, and is likely to happen outside of conventional theatre spaces in an immersive, participatory, experimental form" (Woynarski, 2015, p. 6).Theatre can teach, impact, and bring about cultural, political, and behavioural change that affect the environment.The above assertion perfectly recommends the reviewed performances as potential study materials for ecological theatre.Indeed, most environmental problems are rooted in social behaviour and as such, environmental harmony must occur through social change.Woynarski (2015, p. 2) reiterates Giannachi and Stewart's belief that it is in "the interface between ecology and the arts that some of the most aesthetically inspiring and politically challenging works are found because it is in an ecologically oriented art that the very relationships between human beings and nature are being questioned, critiqued and even reinvented".This reinforces the importance of bringing to awareness the distinctive engagements of ecology and theatre.The sampled performances in this study are analyzed through Kershaw's ecological theory to illustrate how the adoption of innovative environmental approaches can add value to cultural advancement and provide an intellectual vehicle to articulate indigenous interests.Kershaw's (2007) ecological theory implies all the attributes comprised in the process of culture such as group identity, social values, and the interactional relationship between man and his environment.Kershaw shifted the attention of theatre criticism to how the environment contributes to ideology.His belief that the environment is "the bearer of meaning and not the maker of meaning" implies that the environment rather than man should be made the subject of drama rather than a complimentary object to convey meaning.The analyzed Nigerian theatre directors in this study are circumspect of this disproportionate focus and attempt to correct the imbalance in their dramatic directions.Kershaw's outlined theoretical framework helps establish how such directors deploy metaphorical language to create consistent reality, and elucidate their authentic experiences as Nigerians.Norman Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis is also highlighted in the study to illustrate how narrative methodology, through cultural allegories, ingeniously interrogates social asymmetries and structural inequalities.CDA emphasizes how the fundamental concept of power relationship is reinforced through narrative methodology.

Methodology
Critical Discourse Analysis was used in this research as a relevant research method providing adequate definition to the problem of study.The research examines the importance of analyzing performances directed by Nigerian artists from a theoretical perspective relevant for comprehending how cultural innovation and ecological values could pragmatically extend the vistas of social learning.Expectedly, the applied ecological theory would lend significance and elicit validations for the findings at the end of this research while creating a pool of valuable information for scholars, theatre artistes, and audiences.
The specific methods used in this study include, observation, archival research and theoretical perspectives employed in the analysis and explanation of performance context and content.Interviews, social media reviews, and other scholarly materials were also employed to give this paper its core essence.The selected drama productions were critically analyzed to yield meaning using the qualitative and content analysis research method.The performances formed the basis for critically engaging and analyzing ecological and performance spaces in shifting paradigms.

Literature review
Critical research in ecocritism has largely tilted toward the idea that African literary texts document, critique, and focus specifically on ecological crises like oil pollution and physical despoliation rather than the deleterious impact on environment and socio-cultural values (Alaimo, 2010;Bennett, 2010;Garrard, 2011;Huggan & Tiffin, 2010).Egya (2020) argues that a proper definition of ecocriticism in Africa should focus should on literary and cultural artifacts that depict Africa's natural world where humans occasionally find themselves vulnerable under the agency of natural cum supernatural forces with which they negotiate the right path for society to follow.Theatre is dynamic and has been present in various forms and cultures for many centuries evolving from the traditional fertility festivals of Dionysus and traditional African festivals to a more modern reincarnation.Theatrical practice over the years has faced different hurdles but emerged stronger, rejuvenated, and reinvented.From the classical era when women were forbidden from playing roles to the contemporary period when women not only act but play male roles, theatre has flourished with its practitioners becoming more skilled, pragamatic and socially critical in applying their creative ingenuity (Wilson & Goldfarb, 2011).The use of space in theatre is as old as theatre itself.Schechner (1994, p. xxix) points out that "Everyday life is marked by movement and the exchange of space".Kershaw (2007) believes that all human life is theatricalized.The traditional space we define as theatre has changed over the years and could still change as long as the world keeps evolving.
The types of stage peculiar to Nigerian theatre consist: the proscenium stage and arena stage also known as "theatre in the round".Performances are conditioned by the space in which they are presented.This invaluable use of space in performance is close to nature.These performance spaces are not in alignment with the pandemic guidelines of social distancing, thus making theatre performance a health hazard.According to Brook (1968, p. 9), if a man walks through an empty space and someone is watching, that is all that is needed for an act of theatre to take place.As long as the quintessential element of theatre is inherent in performance, space must be used.
Art is nature and art embodies its environment.The actors, the audience, the space of performance, all inhabit one large bubble, the earth.Allen and Bronwyn (2013, p. 91) elucidate that "ecology is also how we experience and make sense of the world, including how we perceive, process and participate in both 'nature' and culture".This means that ecology is culturally related to the environment as much as it is biological.There are numerous definitions of ecology by scholars, each defining the term from their critical purview.Ahmad (2019, p. 10) defines ecology as "the science which investigates organisms in relation to their environment".Ahmad's definition deconstructs ecology from its origin as a science or biologically related topic, and presents it as an interdisciplinary subject adaptable to any field of study.The relationship between ecology and literature is defined as "ecocriticism" a term which Bressler (2011, p. 231), avers, "emphasizes place, nature, and the physical world, attesting to the interconnectedness between humans (their culture) and nature".Thus, ecocriticism infers the study of the link between art and the physical environment.In light of this definition ecological parables and binary forces come into play.Abrams and Geoffrey (2009) emphasises that "prominent in ecocriticism is a critique of binaries such as man/nature, [earth/sky/, life/death, man/woman] or culture/nature, viewed as mutually exclusive oppositions. . . .These entities are interconnected and also mutually constitutive reflecting the duality that brings about communal harmony.
The inherent duality in art and the environment as highlighted by ecocriticism is aptly reflected in Ugwu and Okpe's performances.For example in Ola Rotimi's Grip Am, the author presents dramatic characters like Ise and Aso (man and woman), Angel and Oga Die (life and death), Ise and the orange tree (human/nature).In Wole Soyinka's Childe Internationale, the duality of man and woman is metaphorically contrasted as African and Western culture, old and new (rainmakers and weather forecast), young and old (child and parents) etc. Motsa (2005) avers that although Soyinka's play "was conceived more than three decades ago, the central theme of Childe Internationale is still very topical.The central theme is the deculturalised Nigerian child sent abroad and brainwashed in a white school leaving her disdainful toward her otherwise rich cultural heritage.The play raises questions about the cognitive ability of the Nigerian child to handle complex questions of social values and identity, the place of children in the global politics of culture and the child's right to cultural identity.Soyinka's play blends psycho-analytic techniques with deductive analysis to articulate concerns about the marginalization faced by developing nations in the global culture arena.Osae-Brown (2013), analyzing Grip Am directed by Deleke Gbolade during the 2013 Lagos theatre festival at the Eko Hotel and Suites, acknowledges this duality when he described Grip Am as a play that offers a vivid account of contemporary Nigeria enmeshed in socio-economic dis-equilibrium.The disparity between the rich and poor is so high that the devastating effect of poverty on poor folks has made them virtually sub-human.In his post production comments after the University of Nigeria convocation performance of Grip Am, Oba Adéyeyè Enitan Ògúnwùsì, the Ọọ ̀ni of Ifẹ ̀ and Chancellor of the university, acknowledged the duality of nature and ecological harmony.Ògúnwùsì remarked that 'the Tongue and Teeth fight every day, yet they live together in the mouth' thus underlining that constant reconciliation with both human and other ecological co-dwellers on planet earth as well as adaptation for a balanced co-habitation are non-negotiable" ("Ola Rotimi's "Grip Am" tells the Story of a Cat and Dog; The Humankind.",2021).Allen and Bronwyn (2013, p. 93) acknowledge the basic attribute of a "binary split-a physical gap between issues when we are discussing a field of practice that is so particularly concerned with reconciling or reconceptualizing dichotomies, whether that be nature/culture, urban/rural, global/local".
Ecocriticism "brings ecological thinking to bear on performance criticism, dramaturgy, production, and performance scholarship" (Woynarski, 2015, p. 5).Woynarski maintains that we understand nature through intentional cultural scrutiny.Understanding ecology combined with arts practice is one of the most interesting and crucial tools for the interpretation of nature and also an important model for cultural observation.Abrams and Geoffrey (2009, p. 90) conceives ecocriticism as envisioning "the natural world as a living sacred thing in which each individual feels intimately bonded to a particular physical place . . .".A clear example of this assertion could be seen in both plays.In Grip Am, Ise develops an attachment to an orange tree planted by his landlord in the compound where he lives.In Childe Internationale, Politician is essentially attached to his culture and is deliberately given a general name by the playwright.Soyinka vigorously promotes the idea of drama as cultural; an emphasis between individuals and the cultural environment that frames them.Both plays enable the audience identify culturally with events as they unfold, and instill cultural value: a requisite human attribute.

Scope of the study
The scope of this research is limited to two performances; Ola Rotimi's Grip Am directed by Agozie Ugwu and Wole Soyinka's Childe Internationale directed by Kasarachi Okpeh.However, relevant references were made to other performances reflecting the prevalent themes in the selected drivein-theatre performances used for this study.

Grip am
Ola Rotimi's Grip Am is a comedy about a mythical couple, Ise and Aso.Ise, a pauper living in a tenement with his nagging wife, Aso, adores his landlord's sweet orange tree and constantly brawls with his wife over his misfortune.On a fateful day, an Angel interrupts their fight revealing his divine mission to grant each contending party a wish.Ise seizes the opportunity and demands supernatural powers over the orange tree so as to incapacitate, freeze and punish anyone caught trespassing by simply uttering "grip am" until whenever he releases the offender.With his wish granted he preens and taunts his wife who, upset by his choice, requests for power to kill anyone, starting with her worthless husband.Ise remonstrates with the angel but it is too late.Having tested his supernatural powers over the intrusive Landlord who Ise stuck to the prized orange tree when he came to collect his unpaid rent, Ise releases him after taking over his house.Aso chastises him over his devious act just as Die (Death) arrives and instructs Ise to prepare to join him in the afterlife.However, Ise has a plan and tricks Die to grant him a final wish i.e. to eat an orange from his precious tree before departing this world.He feigns temporary blindness and urges Die to pluck an orange for him and when he foolishly complies, transfixes him thus setting the stage for negotiations.Having given Die some rough treatments, Die agrees to allow Ise and Aso his wife to live forever.The orange tree is central to what appears to be Rotimi's artivism to place nature and harmony as important parameters framing human existence in Nigerian society.

Childe internationale
In Childe International, Wole Soyinka wittingly satirizes the complex social issues of cultural alienation, dislocated identity, and respect for elders and cultural traditions.Focusing on the Nigerian youth caught up in the mix of globalization and shifting paradigms, Soyinka highlights how ignorance of social norms and values upset the structural balance of a typical Nigerian family.In the play, a disgruntled politician, archetypically named and described by the author as a nativeproper, self made businessman, and his disfunctional family battle for dominance.Titi, Politician's daughter, newly returned from a foreign boarding school, filled with the values of her host country and supported by her mother, Wife, attempts to redefine the parameters of social value in their house.Politician, recovering from his wife's kitchen terrorism, is however not bending over for this cultural upstart and confronts mother and daughter.From the play's opening when the daughter returns home for holidays, Politician is determined not to have her propagate her modern attitudes on his territory.Soyinka appears to recommend that modern Nigerian men emulate Politician whose dutiful sense in confronting the negative influence of pervasive civilization and destruction of his social order marks him out as a cultural defender.Politician sees Titi as a newer version of his culturally floundering wife who, in blind loyalty to her daughter, ignores the impending danger.Soyinka portrays Titi and her mother as cultural renegades enamored with Western manners that deride their own cultural essence.Childe Internationale analyses how foreign influences shape social perception and create an uneasy relationship between progress and tradition.

Adapting to the times
It is a remarkable coincidence that the choices of both plays for the drive-in theatre in Nsukka and Abuja were influenced by the brevity of their scripts.Given the short attention span of contemporary Nigerian audience evidenced by the popular reception of social media skits on Instagram, Youtube, TikTok etc., short duration plays appeared to be safer alternatives for both directors' drive-in theatre experiments.The drive-in theatres at Nsukka and Abuja had relative advantages and/or disadvantages based on their locations.While Abuja as a city with affluent businessmen and senior civil servants had higher commercial potential, Nsukka, best described as a semi-urban town dominated by mid level civil servants, struggled economically as ticket remittances showed.Drive-in theatres operate with about half the capacity of a regular in-house theatre which grossly affect the box office with the production having to employ more hands than a regular theatre.While ticket charges for Grip Am in Abuja was 5,500 naira or 7 dollars when converted for a car with one person 10,000 (14 dollars) for two persons, and 12,500 (16 dollars) for three, Childe Internationale in Nsukka charged a flat rate of 1,000 naira or 1 dollar 50 cents when converted for a maximum of two persons in a vehicle.This was despite the fact that the Nsukka drive-in contracted three people in addition to act as traffic warders to ensure strict compliance with social distancing rules.University of Nigeria security operatives were also co-opted to maintain peace and order.
The cast and crew members were tested before rehearsals for Grip Am.The director, Mr. Ugwu confirmed that attention was given to the health of cast members during rehearsals.The use of facemasks, sanitizers, and temperature check was mandatory for audience members driving in to see the show.On the other hand, the cast and crew members at Nsukka were not tested during the Childe Internationale production due to the unavailability of testing centres in Enugu state at that time as well as the cost implication of the available alternatives in Anambra and Ebonyi states.With the live broadcast of Grip AM on 102.5 FM, audience members listening to their car radios could reduce or increase the volume of the radio to suit their hearing preferences.However, in the production of Childe Internationale, the producers deployed loud speakers that filtered beyond the performance area and disturbed adjoining residences.
Staged in May, 2020 at the peak of the pandemic, the production of Grip Am adhered to COVID-19 rules more than Childe Internationale which was staged in October of the same year when restrictions were more relaxed.The director of the Nsukka production revealed that the cost of building the stage, renting lights, and other equipment made the process costly and financially unrewarding.His team however counted the experiment successful, not because of the financial gain.but for cultural fulfillment ends.They employed technology and digital platforms to position the theatre as a futuristic art without limits.
Against the culturally prevalent portrayal of the woman as the marginalized in Africa's literary space, there seems to be a role reversal in Soyinka's Childe International.In the play, there is a gang up against the man who is presented as tolerant and patient. he is ridiculed and provoked on the basis that cultural behaviour like as greeting or speaking respectfully to elders, which he holds dear are tagged archaic.Politician's culture is castigated by Wife and Titi as an existential misfit for derision.Soyinka achieves this purpose by using the girl as a cultural neophyte ignorant of how to transact both worlds alluding to how Nigerians are unaware of the declining state of their environment and how to face the challenge squarely.While the playwright represents Titi as a potential cultural initiate, Wife, her mother, is portrayed as a prodigal daughter; an older version straddling both the traditional Yoruba and the Western world.Titi is heady with her exposure to Western culture whereas, her mature mother who had encountered Western culture and should have been discerning, failed to give her advice and became an accomplice.Ugwu explains how the notion of culture, practices and observances are changing with time and appealing to different persons in different ways.This is what he sought to capture in his direction through Politician, a symbolic representation of people's diverse responses to African culture in a globalization impacted age.The playwright's empathy with the man suggests an advocacy for uplifting African culture.This is why at the play's close after he spanks Wife, she realigns to what the right culture should be and enforces it by correcting Titi with a paddle to her butt.Wife's corrective spank is a rehash of the cultural dictum about never "sparing the rod" so that future generation of Africans do not lose grip on authentic knowledge of their culture.Other relevant messages in the play reinforce the need for parental control over children as required in typical Yoruba society.

Theatre and evolutionary responsiveness
Attempting a theatrical business venture during a pandemic when business was restricted was a radical and brave undertaking.The two theatre directors under examination undoubtedly embody the maxim that the show must go on no matter the circumstances.Undaunted by the COVID-19 pandemic, they adapted their creative platforms to extend the discussion on cultural values and cosmic harmony in an evolutionary age where meaning and cultural orientation are increasingly conflicted.In the course of interviewing the production artists much insight was gained regarding the cumbersome task of aligning traditional cultural paradigms to capture contemporary realities while coming to terms with the expectations of the audience.The dramatic performances of Grip Am and Childe Internationale served as interventionist conduits to address debilitating cultural values and encourage ecological harmony.The theatre performances at both Nsukka and Abuja attracted considerable reactions from audience members and theatre critics.Ibietan (2020) opines that the drive-in format of Grip Am, premiered on the NaN Invalid Date NaN, at the Silverbird Cinema car park created an atmosphere of fun, commitment to unity of purpose, organic solidarity and a gratifying unity of tribe and tongue . . .Ibietan's (2020) summation derives from the manner in-car audiences, numbering up to 244 vehicles containing 3 persons each, drove into the park, the similitude of a live theatre experience from their individual car spaces in maximum comfort, and the simultaneous/real-time transmission of sound from the stage via 102.5 FM radio station for a seamless theatre experience.According to Nwakunor (2020) the incar audience that tuned in to the radio frequency for sound also sent immediate feedback and reaction to the stage action, replacing traditional applause with car honks.Undeterred by the storm which disrupted the production for over one hour, the in-car audience hung on and jubilantly blared their horns to welcome the actors back on stage after nature's interruption.Ibietan (2020) considered this experience a sign of "innovation, industry, and an adjustment to a new life".This sort of innovation was inspired by "the need to revive, restart, resuscitate, and grow theatre practice in Nigeria amidst the pandemic" (U.Ugwu, personal communication, 15 September 2021).
The staging of both Grip Am and Childe Internationale made a lasting statement of hope for live theatre practice at a time of a global pandemic providing a model for the replication of the drive-in theatre form in other parts of the country.Apart from its previously mentioned interventionist role during the pandemic, the mobile productions were also salutary in other ways.The choice of Grip Am for the Abuja's drive-in experience for instance was partly predicated upon the need for an entertainment form happening in a safe space and therapeutic enough to provide relief for an audience constantly bombarded with tragic news.Agozie Ugwu, the director of Grip Am, considered the play's theme apt since as a comedy it was a humerous recipe to create therapy for the afflicted; a basic iteration of what theatre does.On the other hand, Kasarachi Okpeh's direction of Childe Internationale at Nsukka, could be described as a dual commentary on the social reality of compliance with COVID-19 control measures and a reflection of the reality of cultural complication.Titi aptly symbolizes contemporary youths whose sense of identity appear to be in a flux assaulted by the forces of multicuralism, globalization, and attendant cultural bias.Titi conceives college as the next step in her steady sexual and social development ladder, while Politician, her father, evinced her academic growth as an important phase in her intellectual and cultural journey to assume social responsibility.The action of the actress playing Titi, when she invites her UK boyfriend to the house and shared a hug and a kiss, while in character, was an affront to COVID-19 regulations on social/physical distancing.This action was emblematic of many ways Nigerians reacted negatively to most of the COVID-19 prevention measures.The girl's action is a negation of the basic norm of child upbringing in Africa whereby a girl ought to request her parents' approval before inviting anyone over.
The issue of cultural identity in Childe Internationale gave the Nsukka performance a truly Nigerian cultural ambience.With cultural awareness on the decline in this age, and humans becoming more receptive to Western practices and social media "wokeness", the complexities of "modernity" and the perceived duplicity it portends for African cultural identity informs fundamental questions such as; "what do we mean by a modern world and whose definition should be accepted: the West's or Africa's?Africa is definitely disadvantaged as it has already been assigned an inferior position in the cultural scheme of things.Culture is peculiar to a people and it is hard to establish which culture is superior to the other.Soyinka presented his characters in the play as anonymous existential beings except for Titi, who has no indigenous cultural ideology.The deliberate anonymity of most of the dramatic characters suggests an implicit reference to a cultural identity loss or crises.The director's handling of the issue of identity through characterization and content posed a bit of a challenge.Since the different artists had their respective perceptions of culture and how it has evolved, casting for different roles called for concerted efforts to realize the desired interpretive aims.Many cast had to shed their bias to travel long distances to represent the world of the play in the manner the director desired.Some of the challenges of drive-in theatre in Nigeria are infrastructural inadequacies and insecurity.Another challenge facing drive-in theatre is the issue of power supply.Nigeria is yet to tackle its power supply problem as a large percentage of its citizenry do not have access to electricity.Similarly, since all the reviewed drive-in theatres relied on generators which consumed a lot of fuel and were expensive to run, it was hard for the finances to break even.The cost of renting outdoor stages and audio equipment for drive-in theatre events is high in Nigeria and makes it beyond the reach of people of lower economic status.In comparison to regular theatre tickets, which cost around 500-1000 Naira ($1-$1.5),drive-in theatre tickets cost about 5000-10000 Naira ($12-$25), depending on the location.It is important to observe that with the lifting of restrictions pertaining COVID-19 pandemic, not much ventures in drive-in-theatre have been made.

Conclusion
Drive-in theatre has given the Nigerian entertainment industry a new lease of life with opportunities for collaboration between government institutions, cultural organizations, etc. Drive-in theatre has the power to foster social cohesion and community building.By providing a shared space for entertainment, drive-in-theatre creates opportunities for people from diverse cultural backgrounds.Despite the challenges stated above, drive-in theatres in Nigeria have had significant impact on the country's entertainment scene.Drive-in theatre has created a new performance space in Nigeria and provided an alternative means of entertainment previously unavailable to Nigerians.Drive-in theatre helps to promote cultural diversity in a country made up of over 250 ethnic groups.Hosting drive-in performances that cut across different parts of the country could be an avenue to promote cultural exchange and allow various tribes to experience each other's cultural heritage.Furthermore, drive-in theatre has also helped create employment opportunities for individuals in the technical, media, and event management industries.For example, the Cinema for Cars in Lagos, Nigeria, has created jobs for ushers, security personnel, and media technicians who operate the audio and video equipment needed for such events.
Globally, reports of spread of COVID-19 have continued to decline, occasioning a return to a more open social life.However, what has become a post-COVID-19 era has been largely shaped by lessons learned from the pandemic in innovative responses to economic challenges.While drive-in theatres have seemingly halted in Nigeria as the world recovers from strict COVID-19 regulations and social activities, including the conventional audience-in-auditorium return, it is a subject of further research to determine in quantitative terms, audiences preferences to specific performance spaces.It is still hard to ascertain whether the halt to drive-in-theatre derives from producers' concerns for profitability or the audience's attitude.
Theatre has continued to adopt new performance spaces, live streaming performances on platforms like, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Zoom etc.As an important identity marker culture is integral and new performance platforms present new spaces for theatre practitioners to extend their philosophy and assertion that "the show must go on".This evolutionary trend has become a lived reality; a moment reconnecting us to a staging convention where nature and performance are one.This was the core message distilled from the analyzed Nigerian performances which were immersed in resilience, survival, hope, creative ingenuity and the exploration of new pedagogic spaces.Culture and environment have sustained each other from primordial times and there is sustainability in the drive-in-theatre not minding its obvious challenges.It is germane to create an eco-cultural space where indigenous cultural forms could thrive as part of a general strategy to enhance pedagogy and reverse identity loss.The continued existence of society, its cultural system, success and viability derives from the root system of its culture, values, experiences and traditions of its forebears.Systems comprise human beings modeled by the prevailing norms in their society.A people's survival is basically dependent on their ability to adapt to a constantly changing society and aptitude to explore and consolidate those cultural relics essential to their survival in perilous times.