By Olamide Babatunde
It is worthy to celebrate people with remarkable achievements in the society while they are alive rather than give them post-humus celebrations or awards. Committee for Relevant Arts (CORA) Arthouse Forum, in collaboration with National Troupe of Nigeria (NTN), recently examined the influence of Nobel Laureate winner, Prof Wole Soyinka’s classic on Nigerian and African dramatic writings and theatre scholarship in the past four decades.
The theme of the discuss was “40 Years of Death & The King’s Horseman”, which took recently place at the Cinema Hall 1 and 2, National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos.
In his address of welcome, Secretary General of CORA, Toyin Akinosho, said the event was a celebration of one of iconic text of the African dramaturgy, stating that the discussions to examine the influence of the classic on Nigerian and African dramatic writings and theatre scholarship.
Notable theatre scholars and practitioners, who had, variously, engaged the text in teaching and performance, spoke on the theme as it related to them. The discussion was moderated by Ben Tomoloju, a dramatist, theatre director and critic, who had acted and directed the play in the past.
Other discussants included Dr Tunji Azeez, lecturer at Lagos State University (LASU), who previously directed the play; Segun Adefila, theatre director and choreographer with an experimental dance and mimesis-based version of the play; Vincent Sina Ayodele, a theatre designer, who had designed the play for production at various times; Temi Halim, culture activist, who had worked on producing an epic version of the play; and Francis Owuchie, theatre artist, who had participated in the play.
The moderator, who announced that this year marked the forty years of the play and thirty years celebration of the Nobel Prize, said the play “centres on life and it marvels me”, adding, “It is the story of the Alaafin of Oyo, who reigned for thirty years, and his passing on to the ancestral world was trapped as he needs a horse to go through the area.”
First to comment was Dr Azeez, who said, the play brought about a revolution in the writing of African drama: “The play brings a theory propounded by Prof Soyinka, and it is a world view where everything is one. The past, present and future are one, and there is a continuum, because the past becomes the future. Most times when directors want to direct a play, they see it as a conflict between the West and Africa.
“The beginning of the play is a clear idea of what an African tragedy is, and Soyinka is the only African who has propounded a theory by using his theory into a play. This is one of the best plays of Soyinka, and the reader has to be patient enough to read and enjoy the play.”
Vincent Sina Ayodele had this to say: “The play is a tragedy befalling one man, and affects the whole community. Another discussant, Temi Halim, observed that he encountered the play at an early age: “Whenever, I watch television, as a play starts, I translate it into Yoruba language, and am able to get all the philosophies of foreign language. It doesn’t take anything from Nigerians if the play is not a tragedy.”
For Segun Adefila: “At the beginning of the play, Soyinka was abstract; but, as I grew older, I began to understand his writings.
Africa is independent but not actually independent just like Britain or America. There is a continuous circle of who the Africans are and it cannot be broken because this is evident in Soyinka’s works.”
Oba Gbenga Shonuga added his voice by saying: “The discussions are simulating, and I enjoyed it. This shows how brilliant the theatre world is. I am so happy that the youths present in the discussion will understand the play, but some of them will not also understand it. I relate to Soyinka’s works more as a person and as a writer because his works are unique.”