ABSTRACT
I propose in this chapter to draw on African popular culture as a platform for interrogating cultural and literary theory and in this instance, theorizing about performance with a view to determining the limits of its application to specific contexts. As such, my intention is not to offer a complete survey of standup comedy in Nigeria. Instead, I wish to use this particular type of African popular culture as a starting point for asking broad questions about mediation and performance in the contemporary world. The discussion that follows therefore examines the implications of recent developments in the media industries in Nigeria for our understanding of the relationship between live performance, theatricality, and ethics in societies experiencing increased engagement with media industries and technologies.
