Taking offence with no offence: relevance of time and place/space within nigeria's stand-up comedy

Abstract

Stand-up comedy has become one of the most popular live performances in Nigeria since the 1990s. Its patronage has risen phenomenally even in the face of the dwindling fortunes of conventional theatre. This notwithstanding, it has been largely ignored by recent studies in African theatre/performance. Hence, there exists a huge gap between its practice and reception, on the one hand, and its learned interrogation, on the other. This study thereby provides a scholarly interrogation of the manifestations and meanings of "time" and "place/space" in standup performances. Using Victor Turner's liminality, Alfred Radcliffe-Brown's "joking relationships" and Max Gluckmann's "ritual of rebellion" as basic frameworks, it identifies the unwritten pact between the performer and the audience which permits the former to insult the latter at will without repercussions. It further deploys audience response theory to discuss how spectators’ interpretations complete stand-up art. Due to popularity and use of multiple performance mechanics akin to mimesis, Bright Okpocha (Basket Mouth) is selected for study. Data are acquired from commercially-available Video Compact Discs (VCDs). The study thus finds that the idea of time and place is a social construct whose establishment is by mutual consent, hence absolving the performer from slander no matter what s/he says.