The representation of health conditions in selected plays of two Nigerian dramatists

This paper explores the representation of health conditions through a textual analysis of two selected Nigerian dramatists. In a collaborative way of health and performance, it investigates the creative process in highlighting and proffering solutions to medical conditions by two Nigerian dramatists and their plays: Hopes of the Living Dead by Rotimi and The Secret Lives of Baba Segi‘s Wives by Rotimi Babatunde (an adaptation of Lola Soneyin‘s novel), specifically at their levels: personal discrimination, communal assumptions, and relationship with other characters. This is explored on three aspects: (a) the revelation of diagnosis, (b) acceptance of people living with specified health conditions, and (c) their openness to interpersonal relationships within others and, by extension, the Nigerian society. There are four factors that may hinder their openness: (a) lifestyle, (b) attitude, (c) physical ―self-denial,‖ and (d) stigma. These factors contend that their representation in Nigerian plays discourages patients/victims to accept, join in the fight against health issues, and voice out discrimination against people with specific health conditions. The plays developed the personality of the character with a health condition. Self-denial was portrayed in The Secret Lives of Baba Segi‘s Wives, while stigma was portrayed in Hopes of the Living Dead; however, the revelation of diagnosis and acceptance of people living with the specific health conditions was not overtly articulated. The dramatists portrayed the integrated community life, but awareness and education on contraction, management, and prevention of the health conditions were noticeably lacking.