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Communication via the Language of Performance Lighting: 

A Comparative Study of Two Performances of Ahmed 

Yerima’s Yemoja 

 

By 

Nsikan Bassey Asuquo & Rasaki Ojo Bakare 

 

 

 

Abstract 

Background: Available literature points to the fact that the actual concern of each 

professional theatre worker and director is to be expressive, in order to effectively capture 

and communicate the intended message of the play to the audience. More so, the 

advancement in theatre lighting technology has come to be used to concrete visual forms 

that further the meaning of the text; thus, evincing sub-texts. Nonetheless, many theatre 

lighting designers have paid less attention to deploying the potential of lighting design as 

a veritable tool in enhancing play interpretation. 

Objective: This study sought to demonstrate the significance of deploying expressive or 

interpretive lighting in play performances as a means for communicating the salient but 

sub-textual ideas embedded in plays.  

Methodology: The outcome of two performances of Ahmed Yerima’s Yemoja (tagged: 

Performance “A”, in which the myths surrounding the hero-gods were not projected, and 

Performance “B”, in which the lighting designer deployed expressive lighting – i.e. using 

light to tell the story) are compared. As instruments for data collection, a total of 250 

copies of the questionnaire were randomly administered to the audience members who 

watched the performance; interviews were conducted with the play directors and the 

lighting designers of the two performances; and focus group discussions were also 

conducted with a class of students specializing in lighting design and some of the 

audience members. Secondary data were collected from journals, textbooks, the internet 

and other related extant literature. Simple percentage analysis was used to analyze data 

for the study. 

Results: It was found that the deployment of light and lighting effects to tell the story in 

Performance “B” could effectively evince and communicate sub-textual ideas such as the 

myths surrounding the Yoruba hero-gods in the play; whereas, these myths were non-

existent in the first performance “A”, in which the lighting was not effectively deployed 

as a tool of interpretation.  

Conclusion: Design elements like light and lighting effects can play critical roles in 

furthering the meaning of texts in plays, if effectively deployed as interpretive or 

expressive tools, rather than used merely for the creation of visibility.  



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Unique contribution: The study has shown that in the absence of standard lighting 

instruments or gadgets conventionally required to produce a particular meaning, 

commonly found lighting instruments and gadgets can be improvised to simulate and 

communicate the desired effect and meanings to the audience. 

Key Recommendation: For effective interpretation of a play on stage, the lighting 

designers should always endeavour to go beyond using light(s) merely for visibility to the 

point of a deliberate deployment of light and lighting effects as expressive tools – this 

enhances the audience’s understanding of every unfolding scenario in a play.  

Keywords: Yemoja, Yoruba myth, subtext, communication and interpretive lighting 

 

 

 

Introduction 

Drama is an enacted story whose function is not just to entertain but also to 

communicate to and educate a society. This is why it is pertinent to note 

that when playwrights write plays, it is because they have an idea or a 

message they want to convey to society – it could be about religion, 

culture, politics, or to raise point(s) that can address issues that have been 

bedeviling the human society (Awoyemi 2019, p. 6; Hurwitz 2021, par. 3). 

When a play director picks a play to direct, the onus rests on the director to 

do so with the intent to clearly communicate to the audience, without 

ambiguity, the subject matter of the play. Often, very salient but sub-

textual ideas in plays are left untold due to ineffective deployment of the 

expressive potentials of design elements, like light; yet, some theatre 

scholars, such as Ayo Akinwale (cited in Adeoye 2011, p.42) and 

Olympus G. Ejue (Ejue 2019, p.37) have argued against the necessity of 

employing interpretive lighting in theatrical performances. 

 

Aim and Objective 

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of performance 

lighting (beyond mere illumination) in enhancing play interpretation. 

Therefore, as an objective, the study carried out a performance of Ahmed 

Yerima’s Yemoja (deliberately employing expressive lighting in the 

performance) staged at Department of Theatre and Media Arts, Federal 

University, Oye-Ekiti, on the 18th of December, 2021, in order to assess 

the outcome of how lights were used in the performance in comparison 

with a previous performance of the same play, which was staged in 

another Department of Theatre and Media Arts in Western Nigeria, on 21st 



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of November, 2021. Suffice it to state that since the aim of the comparison 

is not in any way to promote or disparage any institution but, rather, to 

validate or denounce the argument that expressive performance lighting 

can enhance the textual interpretation of plays, the two different 

performances are identified as “Performance A” and “Performance B” 

respectively (in the order of the date of their staging).   

 

Conceptual Definition of Keywords: 

Below are the meanings of some of the keywords in this study; explained 

in line with purport of their usage:  

 Yemoja: This is the title of the play which, according to Yerima, is 

the story of a celebration of the river goddess, Yemoja. It is a self-

conceived myth and an attempt at explaining the spread of the 

worship of the river goddess, from the Yoruba cosmology into the 

entire diaspora (2002, p. 6).   

 Yoruba Mythology: the Yorubas are members of the West African 

people living chiefly in southwestern Nigeria. They are known to 

be the originators of the worship of the river goddess, Yemoja. 

The term, mythology, refers to a traditional story that is accepted 

as history and serves to explain the world view of a people. 

Therefore, by juxtaposition, Yoruba mythology in this context is 

the belief by the traditional Yorubas that Yemoja, Ogun, Sango 

and Obatala are (their) deities. 

 Subtext is used in this study to mean the underlying meaning or 

the unspoken meaning of a text.  

 Interpretive or expressive lighting is used in this study to mean the 

art of deliberately using or designing light(s) and/or lighting 

effect(s) to connote, imply, express or give explicit meaning to an 

action or object(s), or to give a semblance of, or to signify a 

generally acceptable notion.  

 Communication: according to Agber and Ejue (2013, p. 17), 

communication is a conscious or unconscious, intentional or 

unintentional process in which feelings and ideas expressed verbal 

and or non-verbal messages, are sent, received and comprehended. 

The Art of Playwriting and the Imperative for Creative Interpretation 

A play, unlike other literary works, is a creative work intended to be 

artistically realized before an audience. Hurwitz (2021) corroborates the 

above assertion as he avers that: 



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Playwrights begin with something they believe needs to be said, 

whether that is a story, a political or religious point, a question to be 

addressed, or a humorous observation revealing the human condition. 

The biggest differences between plays and other forms of writing is 

that plays are meant to be experienced in real time and to be 

experienced communally (para. 3). 

Also, Johnson (2000), in a bid to establish the huge creative 

responsibilities attached to the art of playwriting, avers that: “tonnes of 

moulding, creating, crafting, engineering and architecturing [are] involved 

in this unique business which involves the head, the pen, and the stage 

necessarily” (p. 11). To further stress on the huge task involved in 

playwriting which should not be wished away or taken for granted, 

Johnson juxtaposes the attached “wright” in the word, playwright, to the 

"wright” in the word, shipwright, as he avers that: 

Few words exist with the word wright attached to them. One of such is 

‘shipwright’. And strangely enough, it designates a builder of ships. If 

we can imagine the degree of technology which goes into the creation 

of a vessel which successfully cruises on the high sea, the intellectual 

demands carefully translated into physical properties through which 

the finished product is called ship; then we can appreciate the 

ingenuity which a man who must set about making plays, needs to 

reckon with (2000, pp. 11–12). 

From the above quotes, it can be deduced that the art of playwriting is a 

serious task with deliberate intent to communicate to a people; as such, 

every theatre practitioner must be deliberate too, in carefully deploying 

every theatre means to elicit every bit of the meanings in every way 

possible.  

An audience does not go to the theatre to hear the story of a play being told 

in its literal sense. They go to the theatre to watch the literal signs on text 

being expressed. According to Parker et al. (2009, p. 324): “The basic 

obligation of stage design is to give . . . meaning . . .” This invariably 

means that the actual concern of each theatre designer is to use their arts 

expressively.  Parker et al. (2009, p. 324) goes further to aver that: through 

the manipulation of light in all aspects, the lighting designer assists in 

reinforcing the theme of a play.   

In asserting the expressive power of Light, Appia (cited in Asuquo 2019b, 

p. 141) avers that: “Light is the most important medium on stage . . . 

without its unifying power our eyes would be able to perceive what objects 

were but not what they expressed”. Enna (cited in Asuquo 2009b, p. 27) 

succinctly adds that: the duty of the lighting designer includes the 

clarification and intensification of the meanings and concepts of a play. 



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This underscores the role of lighting designs in any theatrical performance 

as invaluable.  

The Basic Functions of Stage Lighting 

According to Boyce (2014, 43), “light is necessary to the human visual 

system to operate. With light, we can see; without light, we cannot”. The 

above assertion establishes, first, the prime and incontrovertible function 

of light in making theatre exist – without light, there cannot be a 

performance. In asserting the important role of light in theatrical 

performances, Crabtree and Beudert aver that: “Electric light had so many 

advantages to play in productions that its presence was unavoidable. Once 

adopted for the stage, there was no turning back. Electric lighting 

facilitated translucency effects and it also made radical colour shifts on the 

scenery on stage” (2005, p. 417).   

Stage lighting has other objectives beyond creating visibility (Shelley, 

1999, p. 29). These objectives include (but not limited to): providing 

illumination in a three-dimensional form of light and shadow . . . , 

composition and creation of mood. Corroborating this, Brockett states that 

light is used: to create visibility, selective visibility, and to aid 

composition; by directing the eye to the most important elements, it creates 

emphasis and subordination; light is also used to affect perception of 

dimensionality (alter apparent shape and dimension), and to enhance mood 

and atmosphere (1992, pp. 397-8). Brockett goes further to add that: 

lighting, among other functions, may reinforce "style", reflect the time of 

day, weather conditions, or season, and may suggest a play’s period 

through the kind of lighting fixtures used on stage (1992, p. 400).  

Synopsis of Ahmed Yerima's Yemoja 

The play, Yemoja, is a mythology on Yoruba hero-gods – Ogun, Sango, 

Orunmila, Obatala, Esu, and, very importantly too, on the emergence of 

the river goddess, Yemoja. All these deities are endowed with human 

feelings, attitudes and frailties. The story begins with a town-crier 

announcing to the town’s people that the Kabiyesi wishes to celebrate 

Yemoja - the river goddess.  

The next scenario reveals Ogun visiting his lover, Yemoja, at her hut. He 

dances to her admiration and professes his love for her. In the midst of this 

romantic summit, a voice calls on Ogun to join them in a war against the 

people of Ijase Oke (who have come to molest his people). Ogun becomes 

enraged and responds that he is joining the warriors at the battle front. But 

Yemoja begs him not to go, asking that he spends the night with her. 

Instead of heeding her plea, Ogun calls on Esu to keep Yemoja company 



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till he returns from the battle. He then hands Yemoja his "calabash of life" 

and charges her never to open it nor look into it. He leaves for the battle. 

Esu sees his company with Yemoja as a perfect opportunity to get back at 

her for turning down his love overtures in the past. He then tricks Yemoja 

into opening Ogun's calabash of life as a result of which she becomes 

partially paralyzed; at the same time, Ogun is seriously wounded at the 

war front by "a little boy". Yemoja begs Esu for help, but he stoutly tells 

her that the only condition on which he would agree to save her life would 

be if she would spend some nights with him. Yemoja argues that she does 

not want to be unfaithful to Ogun. After a series of arguments and 

bargaining, Yemoja agrees that she will spend a night with him. Esu then 

calls on Obatala to come and heal Yemoja. 

While Obatala begins the treatment, Esu dashes to the battle-field and lies 

to Ogun that Yemoja deliberately opened the calabash of life because she 

wanted to have him (Ogun) killed; and that, at the very moment, she is 

having amorous affairs with Obatala. Ogun becomes enraged and dashes 

to Yemoja's abode for a confrontation with Obatala. He meets Obatala and 

challenges Obatala to a fight to death at the market square. Obatala in turn, 

runs to Sango (Ogun's foe) to fight in his stead. 

Yemoja runs to Orunmila (a diviner) to help her consult Ifa to know what 

to do to avert the duel between Ogun and Sango. During the consultation, 

Orunmila reveals to Yemoja that she has a greater mission to fulfill - going 

into the river to become the mother of all sea creatures, answering to the 

needs of those who call on her for help. Therefore, as Ogun and Sango 

meet at the market square for the showdown, Yemoja steps forward to 

intervene. She explains that she cannot keep quiet and watch Ogun allow 

his temper to take hold of his manly wits; thus, bringing her love for him 

to the market square to ridicule. She asserts that she shall not be the reason 

the two men would fight and kill each other; rather, she would step into the 

deep blue sea answering to the different needs of all who call on her for 

help. Suddenly and supernaturally, she transforms into a mermaid and 

wriggles her way into the sea.  

Methodology: Content Analysis and Survey methods were used for this 

study. Under Content Analysis methodology, data were gathered from 

Ahmed Yerima’s play, Yemoja, the video-recordings of the two 

performances, tagged “Performance A” and “Performance B”, from the 

live performances (via observation by participation) and from some related 

extant literatures. Under the Survey method, focus group discussions and 

(Face-to-Face and Telephone) interviews were adopted as instruments of 

data collection.  



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Content Analysis: the decision to adopt content analysis method is to give 

room for a detailed and systematic examination of the text and the 

performances investigated in this study in order to ascertain the existence 

or absence of the theme of Yoruba mythology (which is the subject of 

discourse) both in the text and in the performances. After being in a live 

audience of the first performance, tagged in this study as “Performance 

A”, a scrutiny of an unedited video-recording of the performance was also 

carried-out by the researcher. However, in order not to limit the judgment 

to only the researcher’s view(s), a survey method is also adopted. 

Survey Method: The decision to adopt survey was to allow for an intimate 

setting for a free-flow discussion in order to extrapolate empirical data 

from audience members who watched the performance under study. The 

focus group discussions were carried out with two categories of audience 

members; information was gathered from participants for data analysis. 

The first focus group discussion was organized with a group of 8 technical 

theatre students. The second focus group discussion was organized with 93 

people (who watched the unedited video recording of “Performance A”). 

The participants were chosen based on two criteria: those who indicated 

interest, who as well watched the live performance under study, tagged 

“Performance B”. The participants were assured that they would only be 

mentioned as participants. A face-to-face and telephone interviews were 

conducted with the director and lighting designer (respectively) of 

“Performance A”. And a total of 250 (randomly picked) out of the 345 

members of the live audience (of “Performance B”) were administered 

with copies of a questionnaire. The following questions guided the 

discussions and interviews: 

1). From the author’s note in the play-text, do you understand that Yoruba 

mythology is one of the major themes in Ahmed Yerima’s Yemoja? 

2). Do you agree that characters like Ogun, Sango, and Yemoja are 

portrayed as deities in the play-text? 

3). Do you agree that “Performance A” effectively communicated the 

myths surrounding the characters of Ogun, Sango, and Yemoja as 

supernatural beings or hero-gods in the play? 

4). Do you agree that “Performance B” effectively communicated the 

myths surrounding the hero-gods in the play? 

5). Do you agree that the use of light as an expressive tool in “Performance 

B” aided in evincing and communicating the myths of supernaturalism 

surrounding characters like Ogun, Sango, and Yemoja? 



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Results from the Audience: Out of the 250 administered copies of the 

questionnaire (which contained the options: “Agree”, “Strongly Agree”, 

“Disagree”, and “Strongly Disagree”), 240 copies (i.e. 96%) were 

retrieved. 223 (i.e. 92.9%) respondents strongly agreed that the lighting in 

the scene helped them to understand that Yemoja entered into water 

(river), 7 (i.e. 2.9%) ticked “Agreed”, no (i.e. 0%) respondent ticked 

“Disagree” or “Strongly disagree”. But 10 (4.16%) respondents did not 

tick any option.  

Results from Focus Group Discussions: A total of 8 Technical Theatre 

students and the researcher made up the Focus Group Discussion. The 

participants were all allowed to watch the unedited video recording of 

“Performance A”. After watching the video, 3 of the students admitted that 

though the myths surrounding the Yoruba hero-gods in the play were not 

effectively communicated, they could still identify the characters of Ogun, 

Sango, and Yemoja as beings with supernatural power because they were 

already familiar with the Yoruba myth surrounding their persons; they said 

that “Performance B” produced better information about the myths 

surrounding the characters. Five (5) members of the Focus Group 

Discussion claimed they could not gain any insight about the myth 

surrounding the Yoruba hero-gods from “Performance A” until they 

watched “Performance B”.   

A group of 93 non-technical theatre audience members were also gathered 

for a focus group discussion. This was carried out to determine if the 

difference in the lighting of “Performance A” and “Performance B” could 

affect the perception of non-technical audience differently.  91 (i.e. 97.8%) 

out of the 93 non-technical theatre audience members said that although 

they were familiar with the Yoruba myth surrounding a character like 

Sango, it was only in “Performance B” that his fire-spitting prowess was 

communicated. The entire 93 participants averred that Ogun’s portrayal in 

“Performance A” only communicated him as a strong man; that it was not 

until the lighting that separated him (at Yemoja’s house) from the warriors 

at the forest in “Performance B”, that he was portrayed as a supernatural 

being with the ability to hear from/communicate with people miles away. 

34 (36.5%) said even when they watched “Performance B” and saw the 

ambience transformation when Yemoja transformed into a mermaid and 

wriggled her body to the edge of the market square, they could not 

understand that she was entering into water (river) until they saw the 

projected scene on the backdrop as she was swimming in the river. 59 (i.e. 

63.4%) participants said that the ambience transformation via the lighting 

aided them in understanding that Yemoja was entering into water. In the 

end, the entire 93 participants said that not only did the expressive lighting 



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in “Performance B” aid the interpretation of the unfolding scenarios in the 

play, but it also made the performance to be more aesthetically appealing 

to them.    

Director’s Remark: According to the director of “Performance A”, “we 

tried our best in interpreting the play with available resources . . .; yes, I 

believe the audience enjoyed it. But I must admit that the use of lighting 

designs in the second performance [‘Performance B’] produced a better 

and deeper interpretation.” 

 The Theory of "Form Follows Function":  The concept of “Form 

Follows Function” is a design theory propounded by Louis Sullivan in 

1896. This theory was initially associated with modernist architecture and 

industrial designs in the 20th century. The thrust of this theory is that the 

form of a building or object should be primarily based on its intended use, 

function or purpose. Beyond architecture and industrial designs, the theory 

has come to be applied in different fields of human endeavours. According 

to Sullivan (cited in Dubois 2021, para. 3), the phrase, “form follows 

function”, 

. . . is the pervading law of all things organic and inorganic, of all 

things physical and metaphysical, of all things human and all things 

superhuman, of all true manifestations of the head, of the heart, of the 

soul, that the life is recognizable in its expression, that form ever 

follows function. This is the law.  

Dubois (2021, par. 3), in summarizing the ideology behind “form follows 

function” states that, the “why” of what is to be built or designed should 

take precedence over “how” it is built or designed – this is the law! In 

other words, relating this theory to theatre practice (i.e. especially the area 

of lighting design), the reason for which any lighting (as a design element) 

is introduced or used in any theatrical performance is what should guide 

how the lighting is applied in the performance. 

According to Parker et al., theatrical form in its simplest description is the 

communication of ideas between the performers and the audience (2009, p. 

3). Therefore, in expressing or communicating the playwright’s and/or the 

director’s vision to the audience, the form of light (in any theatrical 

performance) must follow the rule of expressive or communicative 

engagements because, according to Appia (cited in Asuquo 2019, p. 141), 

light is a unifying factor for projecting the communicative or interpretative 

import of any theatrical performance. Therefore, not using light for an 

interpretive purpose(s) in theatrical performance is a negation of the rules 

of deploying design elements in theatrical performances; thus, it gives 

grounds for interrogation.   



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Communication via the Language of Performance Lighting in Yemoja 

Performances: A Comparison between “Performance A” and 

“Performance B” Versions 

According to Agber and Ejue (2013, p.16), "It is through language that we 

express our ideas and feelings. These ideas are expressed verbally or 

through non-verbal means such as . . . anything to which people can attach 

meanings." Agber and Ejue (2013, p. 17) define communication as 

conscious or unconscious, intentional or unintentional process in which 

feelings and ideas are express verbal and or non verbal messages, sent, 

received and comprehended.  

According to Danesi (cited in the “Forward” to Thomas A. Sebeok’s book, 

Sign: An Introduction to Semiotics, 2001), “. . . communication is 

grounded in the semiotic system of organism”. However, Sebeok (2001, p. 

5) defines semiotics as “the phenomenon that distinguishes life forms from 

inanimate objects . . .  the instinctive capacity of all living organisms to 

produce and understand signs”. More so, Saussure (cited in Sebeok 2001, 

p. 5), defines sign as “a form made up (i) of something physical – sounds, 

letters, gestures, etc.”, which he terms as the signifier; and (ii) “of the 

image or concept to which the signifier refers”, which he terms as the 

signified; while the relation that holds between the “signifier” and the 

“signified” he calls signification.  Sebeok (2001) goes further to aver that 

the “signification” is an arbitrary one that human beings and/or societies 

have established at will (6).  For example, according to Brawne (2003, p. 

147), "How light is reflected and what we read into the qualities of that 

reflected light affects our perception . . ." In other words, the lighting 

serves as the signifier, while what we perceive serves as the signified – 

that is, the meaning.  Barry (1999, p. 2) defines meaning as: 

the referent of the sign [for example]: the mental representation of a 

preceding rainstorm as the meaning of wet streets, the mental 

representation of a feline as the meaning of the word “cat” or of a 

drawing of a cat. . . They are the meanings arrived at as a function of 

the denotations and connotations of these signs. 

In the same context, as stated above, this study uses the denotations and 

connotations of different lightings used in the play performances in the 

study to refer to what they mean or communicate. 

Though some signifiers have universal connotations and denotations, it is 

important to mention that where a signifier has different meanings for 

different people, the ostensible meanings alluded to the use of any light as 

a signifier in this study is culturally driven. This is because just as a culture 

of a people may differ from the culture of other people, meanings (the 



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signified) from different signifiers may also differ from one culture to 

another culture. Hence, for the purpose of this study, the inferences drawn 

from the signifiers (the lightings) are majorly situated within the cultural 

milieu of the Yorubas. This is so decided because Ahmed Yerima's play, 

Yemoja, used as a case study in this research, is contextually situated 

within the Yoruba cultural milieu.   

According to Sebeok (2001, p. 9), there are six major types of signs that 

semiotics has cataloged and investigated. These are “symptom, signal, 

icon, index, symbol, and name”. This study, however, focuses only on 

signal, icon, index, and symbol because of their relevance in this 

discourse. 

Pictorial Representations of some of the Scenes 

Below are some of the scenes in the play that require expressive lighting.  

Second Scene – Yemoja's abode (which simultaneously accommodates the 

situation where the Warriors at the battle-front are calling on Ogun to join 

them at the battlefield). 

Performance “A” Version  

 

Picture 1 Scenario: Ogun dancing to the admiration of Yemoja, but he is 

interrupted by the call   from  the warriors, telling him to join them at the 

battle-field (Yerima 2002, pp. 18 - 20). 

The scene Lighting: As Light reveals Ogun and Yemoja, the voice of the 

warrior who is calling on Ogun is heard from outside Yemoja's hut. It can 

be observed here that the warriors who are calling on Ogun to join them at 

the battlefront are not seen. This way, the information of where they are 

calling from, is not properly interpreted and transmitted to the audience. 

By so doing, the audience is only left to engage in guesswork (as per 

whether the warriors are within Yemoja's abode), which can actually result 



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in misconceptions; whereas, the text says they are calling from a battle-

front.  

Performance “B” Version 

 

Picture 2 Scenario: Ogun dancing to please Yemoja, but is interrupted by 

the call to join the warriors at the battle-field (Yerima 2002, pp. 18 - 20). 

This is a scene with a simultaneous setting – the scenario on stage right 

(from actor's point of view) is the war-front where the warriors are calling 

on Ogun to join them in the battle against the people of Ijase Oke. While 

on the stage left is Yemoja's abode, where Ogun is with Yemoja. 

The Scene Lighting: In establishing the two different locales and their 

atmospheric conditions (with activities happening simultaneously) without 

the audience being confused, the lighting designer had to creatively 

employ the controllable qualities of light (i.e. colour, direction, movement 

and intensity) to enhance a clear interpretation of the scenes – while the 

greenish ambience is created for the warriors' scene in the forest to 

communicate a mangrove milieu of a forest scene (the battle-front), light is 

also used to create a clear atmospheric milieu around Yemoja's abode to 

communicate a normal daylight. This way, though the warriors at the 

battlefront are communicating with Ogun who is at Yemoja's abode (as the 

play stipulates), the audience can clearly see and understand that the two 

scenarios are happening at different places.       

N.B. The above expressive lighting not only allows the audience members 

to see, understand and enjoy the actions happening in the two different 

locales simultaneously but enables the audience to witness Ogun’s 

supernatural extra-sensory powers. The fact that Ogun (who is at Yemoja's 

abode) can hear the voices of the warriors who are in a faraway battlefield 

helps to interpret and/or implicitly communicate Ogun's supernatural 

ability (of extrasensory perception and communication). To hear voices 

miles away is a rare attribute only associated with a deity – a salient theme 

not explicitly stated by any character in the play but implied in the text; 

this way, the lighting, beyond revealing actors and scenery, expresses the 



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inner essence of the playwright's/director's vision (the Yoruba myth 

that Ogun has supernatural powers) to the audience. 

It should also be noted that, in the Performance “A” version of the play, 

the voice calling on Ogun to come and join them in the battlefront was 

heard from behind the stage (and no lighting was used to establish the 

locale of the scenario). By so doing, the audience members were left to 

wander about who is calling on Ogun, and where he or she is calling him 

from. Thus, the information or message is not properly interpreted and 

transmitted to the audience. The problem, here, is that the audience 

members who have not read the play before watching the performance are 

thrown into confusion and forced to start guessing where the voice is 

coming from. Some might have even assumed that the battleground was 

behind Yemoja's hut (since the voice is coming from there). And the 

audience's assumptions/interpretations would be as divergent as their 

individual discernment levels are diverse; as a result, not every audience 

member would get the right information that Ogun possesses supernatural 

powers (as a god). 

In explaining the use of greenish ambience to communicate the mangrove 

environment of the war scene in the forest, this researcher situates the 

explanation within the ideology of "icon" as one of the "signs" in the field 

of semiotics. Sebeok (2001, p. 9): “an icon is a sign that is made to 

resemble, stimulate, or reproduce its referent in the same way”. So, the 

greenish colour in the lighting was used to simulate the natural ambience 

of a forest scene.   

Performance “B” Version 

 

Picture 3 Scenario: On sighting Ogun at his arrival at the market square, 

Sango begins to spit out fire. 

Remark on the Lighting: Apart from a bright illumination to communicate 

a morning scene, the added light used here (by the lighting designer) for 



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the “B” version of the performance is a fire effect.  

According to Yoruba myth, Sango is a Yoruba hero-god that spits fire 

(especially when he is angry). As a way of communicating this myth of 

Sango's fire-spitting prowess, the lighting designer had to use the fire 

effect to do a practical interpretation of the subtext. By creating this fire-

spiting effect, beyond the aesthetics, the audience members, especially 

those who might not know who the character is (perhaps, because they 

arrived at the theatre late, after the name of the character was mentioned or 

that they have no prior knowledge of the myth that surrounds the person of 

Sango), without the fire effect, might have mistaken Sango for any other 

ordinary person who has come to fight Ogun. But with the use of the fire-

spiting effect, the communication of the Yoruba myth on Sango is 

deepened and the audience is better informed of the nature of this special 

character and the unfolding scenario – an assertion which was confirmed 

by 99% of the respondents who filled the administered questionnaire.  

According to Sebeok (2001), an index is a sign that refers to something or 

someone in terms of its existence or location in time and space, or in 

relation to something or someone else. For example, smoke is an index of 

fire (pointing out where the fire is); cough is an index of cold (10). Here, 

the fire is used as an index of the myth surrounding the temperament of the 

Yoruba hero-god, Sango (when angry).  

To buttress the (above)  assertion that the fire effect helped in clarifying 

the identity of the character, during the performance, immediately the 

character started spiting fire, many of the audience members (possibly 

those who are conversant with the Yoruba mythology) started shouting, 

"Sango"! But the fire-spiting effect was non-existent in the Performance 

“A” version of the scene, and the name-hailing at the character’s 

appearance on the scene was non-existent in Performance “A”. 

Performance “A” Version 

 



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Picture 4 Scenario: At the Market-square, after Yemoja stops the fight 

between Sango and Ogun, contrary to the play-text, she walks out of the 

scene; rather than transform into a mermaid in the presence of the town’s 

people, as the text stipulates.  

Performmance “A” Version 

 

Picture 5 Scenario: Yemoja walks back to the scene after changing into a 

mermaid costume. 

Observation: It is observed from “Performance “A” that beyond its use for 

illumination, light was not used to communicate any meaning about the 

supernaturalness of Yemoja, nor about her metamorphosis from a human 

to a mermaid transiting into the river – which is the core subject matter of 

the entire story. As such, the myth of her supernatural transformation from 

a human to a mermaid was played down or even nonexistent; she merely 

walked out of the scene and returned after a short while in a shining dress 

– as such, she could have been mistaken as an ordinary human being in the 

performance. 

Performance “B” Version 

 



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Picture 6: Market-square. Time: Day, Scenario: As Yemoja is about 

transforming into a mermaid, thunder stricks, lightning flickers and the 

atmosphere becomes cloudy. 

Remarks on the Lighting: Sebeok (2001, p. 10), states that: “an icon is a 

sign that is made to resemble, stimulate, or reproduce its referent in the 

same way”. Examples of an icon include: photographs (because they 

reproduce their referents in visual ways). Sebeok (2001, p. 11) goes further 

to aver that a "symbol is a sign that stands for its referent in an arbitrary, 

conventional way”; for example, a cross figure can stand for the concept of 

Christianity while white colour can be symbolic of cleanliness, purity, 

innocence, etc. Therefore, the use of lighting effects to produce a sudden 

thunder-strike and lightning, and the atmospheric transformation from the 

bright clear morning atmosphere to a bluish ambience, was first, to 

establish and reinforce the idea of a supernatural occurrence occasioned by 

Yemoja's metamorphosis from a human to a mermaid; secondly, to 

simulate a natural cloudy ambience of an impending rainfall. (This is 

because, according to the Yoruba mythology, Yemoja is a supernatural 

being associated with water); and thirdly, it is to enhance the illusion of a 

supernatural invocation of an aquatic milieu that would aid Yemoja's 

movement into the river (as implied in the play-text).  

Performance “B” Version 

 

Picture 7: Market-square. Time: Day. Scenario: As Yemoja 

metamorphosed into a mermaid, Iyaji, the head of Yemoja's priestesses, 

begins to eulogies her. Then she begins to wriggle her body away from the 

market-square.  

N.B. As implied in the play (at page 60 and 62) by Yemoja, and the stage 

direction (respectively), after Yemoja metamorphosed into a mermaid, she 

moves into a sea. Yemoja: ". . . I shall today step into the big blue sea 

answering to the different needs of all who  call me Yemoja, . . ." 

(Yerima 2002, p. 60). 



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N.B. Since the play explicitly states that Yemoja left for the sea (as the 

playwright attempts to communicate the origin of the worship of the river 

goddess), it becomes very germane to express the moment of Yemoja's 

entry into the river to become a river "goddess" – this is fundamental 

information which no word of any character (in the play) effectively 

communicates to the audience. As such, this very significant information 

on the incipience of the worship of the river goddess could have eluded the 

audience, if not expressed via lighting design. Therefore, a vivid stage 

picture of Yemoja entering a river had to be created via lighting design. As 

she wriggles her body towards the edge of the market space, the area is 

transformed into water which links her to the sea.   

Performance “B” Version 

 

Picture 8: Market-square. Time: Day. Scenario: As Yemoja gets to the 

edge of the market-square, the area turns to water (see Down Stage Left 

area of picture 8 above). The water serves as her links to the sea. The 

priestesses sing and dance in honour of her; which marks the incipience of 

the worship of the river goddess (picture 9 below). 

Performance “B” Version 

 



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Picture 9: River Bank. Time: Day. Scenario: After Yemoja had 

disappeared through the water by the market, the people sang in her praise, 

then left. Afterwards, through the use of a lighting device known as 

projector, Yemoja is seen swimming in a deep blue river as she had said; 

and the people gather in worship of Yemoja (as it is today) at the river 

bank. A careful scrutiny of the picture above shows the image of Yemoja 

swimming behind the motif on the backdrop. 

Performance “A” Version 

 

Picture 10: The Market-square. Time: Day. Scenario: Rather than see 

Yemoja enter into the water or river as stated in the play-text, in the 

Performance “A” version of the play, Yemoja is seen returning to embrace 

Ogun. 

Conclusion 

In performance “B”, not only does the use of lighting design to establish 

and differentiate the battle-front from Yemoja’s abode help in 

communicating to the audience that the two simultaneous scenarios on 

stage are happening at two different locales, but the existence of the 

conversations between Ogun and the warrior at the battle-front (despite 

being miles apart) communicates and reinforces the Yoruba myth of 

Ogun’s possession of supernatural powers as a deity. Also, the creation of 

the fire-spitting effect by Sango and the creation of water and river effects 

that Yemoja entered into serve to communicate and validate the 

supernatural powers that these characters possess as well as the Yoruba 

mythology which surrounds the incipience of Yemoja and its worship. In 

Performance “A” version of the play, the water which Yemoja is to depart 

into (as the text implies) is not realized; instead, Yemoja merely walks out 

of the scene. This runs contrary to the longstanding myth which holds that 

Yemoja left the terrestrial world for the aquatic realm to become a river 

goddess who is worshiped today by different people in different parts of 

the world. This misrepresentation of the fact is one of the problems of not 



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using light for textual interpretation of plays.  

Since a play performance is intended to be an interpretation of a text, the 

deployment of a design component, like light, must be for interpretive 

purposes. It is by so doing that even the minute but salient sub-textual 

information in a play can be effectively expressed, without ambiguity, for 

audience consumption. Expressive lighting also enriches the aesthetics 

deployed in play performances, thereby swelling audience interest and 

patronage.  

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the Expectant Eye. Architectural Press: An imprint of Elsevier. 

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Author Information: Nsikan Bassey Asuquo is of the Department of 

Theatre and Media Arts Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, 

Nigeria. Email: nsikan.asuquo@fuoye.edu.ng 
 

 

Prof. Rasaki Ojo Bakare is of the Department of Theatre and Media Arts 

Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. Email: 

rasaki.bakare@fuoye.edu.ng 

 


