THE THEATRE OF FEMI OSOFISAN: Multimodality, Social Semiotics & Meta-theatre

This book is the fifth and final mini book on the theatre of Femi Osofisan. It focuses our attention on Osofisan’s theatrical apparatus for making us enjoy his theatre as theatre. Osofisan consciously inscribes in his text certain anti-textual strategies that simultaneously immerse us and distance us from the complex social relations of his characters. Whilst we find his plays highly entertaining and moralistic, meaning is eventually open-ended and subject to our political biases. Nevertheless, Osofisan does not leave us in doubt that he prefers a re-ordering of society in benefit of its working class, and a progressive politics capable of producing a democratic and egalitarian society. Sometimes, Osofisan seems too optimistic that society is already heading towards this goal. That is probably where art parts way with reality, especially, in the case of Osofisan’s Nigeria.