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Humans are actors on the stage called earth. It was William Shakespeare, the quintessential dramatist, who asserted that the world is a stage and all the men and women are merely players who have their exits and their entrances. In some churches, drama is employed as a tool in evangelism, while in others, it is an avoidable distraction, relegated only for use by teachers who instruct Sunday school children. However, in spite of a dearth of widespread support for church drama, more churches seem to utilise theatre and drama in their worships. It is assumed that while hearers sometimes struggle to remember verbalised sermons, the same sermons might be remembered if they are dramatised with the embellishments that scenery, stage props, music, dance, lighting, costume and dialogue bring. This article reports on an investigation into the assumption that drama is one of the timeous tools used to proclaim the timeless truth of scripture. It draws on a mixed-method approach of quantitative and qualitative methods for the study conducted in four churches in three Nigerian cities. Its historical perspective attempts to sketch major empirically grounded features of Christian worship as dramaturgical model. It further reveals the inseparable fusion of religion, theatre and drama. Findings from the study indicate that theatre and drama have become prominent in Christian worship in Nigeria in the last few years. It also suggests that theatricals and dramatics are possible reasons some churches experience numerical growth.

Although in recent years Africans have, through their very rich indigenous performing traditions, began once again to reaffirm the functionality of their arts, yet not many people today have tried to relate these to questions of mass mobilization and conscientization. It is believed that African art and particularly traditional African theatre, story-telling or art serve a social function with several pieces of African literature, such as Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (1958) receiving significant worldwide critical acclaim for their analysis on the effect of colonialism on African cultures. This study is a critical examination of Femi Abodunrin"s The Dancing Masquerade. From the colonial and postcolonial perspectives, the study investigates a peoples" shared pain of perceived decline in culture. It scrutinises the uniqueness and relevance of African cultures as they interface with European and Western cultures in the present era of globalization "so that we are able to understand each other not simply as different but as bearers of a common humanity". Invariably, the study examines some adjustments which African cultures have had to make, or ought to make, as they come in contact with other cultures. It is assumed that through such an endeavour, the twenty-first century can find its freedom of choice and association.

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In many ways, people reveal their language, culture, identity, traditions and beliefs through the contents and themes of their performance arts, in addition to other identity moulding and retaining paraphernalia. However, for failing to fit into the mould of the West, the culture and traditions of peoples of African descent have been erroneously misunderstood and, in some cases, even scorned. Beyond the aesthetics and the utilisation of Africa’s oral traditions in passing down African histories and ways of life to current and future generations, the Yoruba artist’s utilisation of performative art forms such as drama and poetry to first, reassure the Yoruba themselves and then, educate the world about Africa’s cultures has become necessary. This article is an exploration of the narratives and nuances in the works of Hubert Ogunde and Femi Abodunrin as tools in the propagation of a Yoruba cultural outlook. It further takes a closer look into how the works of these writers could influence new narratives about Yoruba creativity as cultural agency from Africa’s own perspective. The study reveals the relevance of the artistic, performative and literary works of Ogunde and Abodunrin as agencies of propagation of Yoruba culture in the twenty-first century.