Introduction to Theatre

1. ENGLISH B

2. WHAT IS THE
DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN A THEATRE
AND A CINEMA?

3. Theatre Versus Cinema
A theatre is a place or building,
consisting of a stage and seating,
in which an audience gathers to
watch plays, musical
performances, public
ceremonies, and so on.
A cinema is a building where an
audience gathers to watch a film
or movie.

4. THE PLAY
 A play is a work
of drama, usually
consisting mostly
of dialogue
between
characters and
intended for
theatrical
performance
rather than just
reading.

5. Literary Terms In Drama
 Playwright
 Script
 Dialogue
 Actors/Characters/caste
 Setting
 Plot
 Stage Directions
 Act
 Scene
 Chorus
 Comedy
 Costume/wardrobe
 Props/Properties

6. DEFINITIONS
 `Playwright – Person who writes a play.
 Script – A piece of writing in the form of
drama. It consists of dialogue and stage
directions.
 Setting – The place and era where the play
takes place.
 Characters/Actors/Caste – Persons in the
play.
 Dialogue – This is what the characters say
to each other. (Conversation)
 Stage Directions- an instruction in the text
of a play, that may indicate movement,
position, tone of an actor or the sound
effects or lighting.
 Plot – Sequence of events in the play
 Act – A major division/unit in the play
which is made by the playwright.
 Scene – A subdivision of the act.

7. Definitions Continued
 Chorus – A group of actors who describe
and comment on the main action of a play
with song, dance and recitation.
 Comedy – A stage play with a happy
ending or jokes intended to make the
audience laugh.
 Costume/Wardrobe – This refers to a
particular style of clothing worn to portray
the wearer as a character or type of
character.
 Properties/Prop – An object on stage that
is used by actors during a performance.
This is anything that is movable which is
different from the actors such as scenery,
costumes, electrical equipment etc.

8. “THE LION AND THE JEWEL” by:
Wole Soyinka
What do you think the play is about?

9. SETTING: AFRICA, ILUNGINLE which is a
rural Nigerian village in the late 1950s.

10. CHARACTERS
 LAKUNLE - Lakunle is the young school
teacher in Ilujinle. He was educated in
Lagos, presumably in a British school,
which results in Lakunle's overblown sense
of his grasp of English.

11.  SIDI – is the village belle of Ilujinle. She's
very beautiful and is acutely aware of that
fact, especially once the stranger returns
to the village with a magazine of
photographs that show Sidi in all her
glory. Seeing the photographs makes Sidi
obsessed with her own image and gives
her an exaggerated sense of her power
over men.

12. . BAROKA - is the Bale (village chief) of
Ilujinle. He's known as both the "Lion"
because of his strength, and the "Fox"
because of his cunning tricks. At 62 he's an
older man, but he still performs impressive
feats of strength despite his age. He has many
wives and concubines, and he marries a new
wife every few months.

13.  Sadiku is Baroka's first wife. She is very
loyal to her husband and spends her time
acting as a matchmaker to find him new
brides and concubines. Her devotion isn't
blind and unwavering, until…

14. MINOR CHARACTERS
 The Wrestler
The Wrestler is a man Baroka employs to
wrestle him for exercise.
 The Favorite
Baroka's current favorite wife.
 The Stranger
The stranger is a photographer from Lagos
who stumbled upon Ilujinle sometime before
the story starts. He himself never appears in
the play, though Lakunle plays his part when
the village acts out the stranger's arrival.