Stages of Survival: Reimagining Performance Spaces During COVID-19 in Nigerian Theatre

The COVID-19 pandemic posed unprecedented challenges to Nigerian performing artists in 2020, disrupting artistic production, economic stability, and established modes of performance within an already fragile creative ecosystem. This study examines how Nigerian performing artists reimagined performance spaces during the pandemic by migrating artistic practices to digital and online platforms. Drawing on qualitative research methods, the study engages in-depth interviews with selected performing artists and conducts content analysis of digitally mediated performances across theatre, dance, and music during the lockdown period. Guided by resilience theory, the paper analyses the adaptive, coping, and transformative strategies adopted by artists in response to state-imposed restrictions and the suspension of physical gatherings. The findings reveal that digital platforms functioned not merely as temporary substitutes for live performance but as emergent spaces that reconfigured notions of liveness, audience engagement, and performance labour within Nigerian theatre practice. While these adaptations enabled artistic survival and visibility, they also exposed structural inequalities related to access, monetisation, and digital infrastructure. The paper argues that the pandemic accelerated an ongoing transformation in Nigerian performance culture, highlighting the need for sustainable policy frameworks and hybrid performance models that integrate digital practices beyond the crisis period