Performing the ‘invisible’ in Yemoja and ‘our family secret’ through multimedia and virtual theatre

Abstract

Modern technology has necessitated the digitalisation of stage performances, especially in the 21st century. Although, technology applies to many  industries as it enhances productivity and creativity, however, theatre industry seems to benefit from technology more than other industries as the use of  digital devices has boosted the industry beyond the physical stage and it has also given stage theatre popularity in the media space. It is on this premise  that this study examined the exploration of “Multimedia Theatre and Virtual Theatre” towards making the invisible visible in the performances of Ahmed  Yerima’s Yemoja and ‘Biola Adumati’s ‘Our Family Secret.’ The findings from the study revealed that many play directors on the Nigerian stage have  experimented with multimedia and virtual theatres in the process of play directing which have enhanced the quality of their works. These production  techniques have been employed by some artistic directors to tell flashback stories by projecting them to the audience during live performances, some explored the same technology to create scenes that seemed impossible on stage such as sea or fire scenes. Hence, this paper concludes that the art of  play directing can be a lot easier with the use of multimedia theatre technique to tell the hidden stories within the play and making the invisible visible.