Biography

Wole Soyinka was born on 13 July 1934 at Abeokuta, near Ibadan in western Nigeria. After preparatory university studies in 1954 at Government College in Ibadan, he continued at the University of Leeds, where later in 1973, he took his doctorate. During the six years spent in England, he was a dramaturgist at the Royal Court Theatre in London 1958-1959. In 1960, he was awarded a Rockefeller bursary and returned to Nigeria to study African drama. At the same time, he taught drama and literature at various universities in Ibadan, Lagos, and Ife, where, since 1975, he has been professor of comparative literature. In 1960, he founded the theater group, “The 1960 Masks” and in 1964, the “Orisun Theatre Company,” in which he has produced his own plays and taken part as an actor. He has periodically been visiting professor at the universities of Cambridge, Sheffield, and Yale.

During the civil war in Nigeria, Soyinka appealed in an article for a cease-fire. For this he was arrested in 1967, accused of conspiring with the Biafra rebels, and was held as a political prisoner for 22 months until 1969. Soyinka has published about 20 works: drama, novels and poetry. He writes in English and his literary language is marked by great scope and richness of words.

As a dramatist, Soyinka has been influenced by, among others, the Irish writer, J.M. Synge, but links up with the traditional popular African theater with its combination of dance, music, and action. He bases his writing on the mythology of his own tribe, the Yoruba, with Ogun, the god of iron and war, at the center. He wrote his first plays during his time in London, The Swamp Dwellers and The Lion and the Jewel (a light comedy), which were performed at Ibadan in 1958 and 1959 and were published in 1963. Later, satirical comedies are The Trial of Brother Jero (performed in 1960, publ. 1963) with its sequel, Jero’s Metamorphosis (performed 1974, publ. 1973), A Dance of the Forests (performed 1960, publ.1963), Kongi’s Harvest (performed 1965, publ. 1967) and Madmen and Specialists (performed 1970, publ. 1971). Among Soyinka’s serious philosophic plays are (apart from The Swamp Dwellers) The Strong Breed (performed 1966, publ. 1963), The Road ( 1965), and Death and the King’s Horseman (performed 1976, publ. 1975). In The Bacchae of Euripides (1973), he has rewritten the Bacchae for the African stage and in Opera Wonyosi (performed 1977, publ. 1981), bases himself on John Gay’s Beggar’s Opera and Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera. (Full Bio)

Plays

THE SWAMP DWELLERS (1958)

An aging Nigerian couple living in a swamp region is visited by a blind Muslim beggar and a Yoruba holy man as they await their son’s return home from the city. Religious corruption, family betrayal, opposing forces of tradition and modernity, the pull of self-determination, the wondrous and volatile relationship of humans to Nature are some of the themes in this early Soyinka drama.

Cast Requirement: 7 (1f, 6m)

Characters: Alu, Makuri, A Beggar, Kadiye, Igwezu, A Drummer, Attendant to Kadiye

Publication: Five Plays: A Dance of the Forests, The Lion and the Jewel, The Swamp Dwellers, The Trials of Brother Jero, The Strong Breed. Oxford University Press, 1964. (Link)

Three Short Plays. Oxford University Press, 1969. (Link)

THE LION AND THE JEWEL (1959)

The play chronicles how Baroka, the lion, fights with the modern Lakunle over the right to marry Sidi, the titular Jewel. Lakunle is portrayed as the civilized antithesis of Baroka and unilaterally attempts to modernize his community and change its social conventions for no reason other than the fact that he can. (Source) 

Cast Requirement: 10+

Characters: Sidi, Lakunle, Baroka, Sadiku, The Favorite, Village Girls, A Wrestler, A Surveyor, Schoolboys, Attendants on the Bale, Musicians, Dancers, Mummers, Prisoners, Traders, The Village

Publication: Five Plays: A Dance of the Forests, The Lion and the Jewel, The Swamp Dwellers, The Trials of Brother Jero, The Strong Breed. Oxford University Press, 1964. (Link)

The Lion and the Jewel. Oxford University Press, 1963. (Link)

THE INVENTION (1959)

The Invention reflects the obsession with race that marked the apartheid regime, and prophetically depicts the beginnings of the crumbling of the apartheid system in the futuristic setting of Johannesburg in 1976. It expresses the concern of the African diaspora with apartheid, which was felt to be an affront to the entire race. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 17+

Characters: Cruger, Bytron, Fremuler, Neubaten, Hardiburr, Glu, Destus, 1st Voice (A Farmer), 2nd Voice (Prime Minister’s Brother-in-Law), 3rd Voice (A Woman), Automated Voice, Briklemaine, Mrs. Higgins, Director of the Laboratories, Public Prosecutor, Bishop Kalinga, An Ex-Racial Security Officer, Guards, Etc.

Publication: The Invention and The Detainee. Edited by Zodwa Motsa. Unisa Press, 2005. (Link)

Blackout, Blowout & Beyond: Wole Soyinka’s Satirical Revue Sketches. Edited by Martin Banham in association with Chuck Mike & Judith Greenwood. Africa World Press, 2005. (Link)

A DANCE OF THE FORESTS (1960) 

A Dance of the Forests denigrated the glorious African past and warned Nigerians and all Africans that their energies henceforth should be spent trying to avoid repeating the mistakes that have already been made. At the time of its release, it was an iconoclastic work that angered many of the elite in Soyinka's native Nigeria. Politicians were particularly incensed at his prescient portrayal of post-colonial Nigerian politics as aimless and corrupt. (Source) 

Cast Requirement: 16+

Characters: Dead Woman, Dead Man, Adenebi, Obaneji, Demoke, Rola, Agboreko, Old Man, A Dirge-Man, His Acolyte, Councilors, Beaters, Drummers, Aroni, Murete, Eshuoro, Ogun, Forest Head, Forest Crier, The Questioner, The Interpreter, Jester, The Triplets, The Half-Child, The Ants, Spirits of the Palm, Madame Tortise, Court Poet, His Novice, Mata Kharibu, A Captain, His Wife, Physician, Historian, Slave Dealer, Soothsayer, A Page, Guards, Attendants

Publication: Five Plays: A Dance of the Forests, The Lion and the Jewel, The Swamp Dwellers, The Trials of Brother Jero, The Strong Breed. Oxford University Press, 1964. (Link)

A Dance of the Forests. Oxford University Press, 1963. (Link)

CAMWOOD ON THE LEAVES (1960) 

Explores the tensions of adolescent awakening set against the internal conflict of generations in a modern Yoruba family, against pressures of European Christianity on the traditional cultural patterns of West African life. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 7+

Characters: Moji, Reverend Erinjobi, Isola, Morounke, Mr. Olumorin, Mrs. Olumorin, Children, Men, Crowd, Voices

Publication: Camwood on the Leaves. Methuen, 1973. (Link)

Wole Soyinka: Plays 1. Methuen, 1984. (Link)

THE TRIALS OF BROTHER JERO (1960) 

Brother Jero is a self-styled 'prophet,' an evangelical con man who ministers to the gullible and struts with self-importance over their dependence on him. The play follows him through a typical day: He acts as kind of tourist guide, displaying himself to the audience, explaining, demonstrating how he manages to live by his wits. He is pursued and cursed by his aged mentor, whose territory he has taken over. He is besieged by a woman creditor who turns out to be the tyrannical wife of his chief disciple. He converts a pompous, painfully timid Member of Parliament with prophecies of a ministerial post. And all day he tries to resist the endless temptation of beautiful women. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 9+

Characters: Jeroboam, Old Prophet, Chume, Amope, A Trader, Member of Parliament, Penitent, Neighbours, Worshippers, A Tough Mamma, A Young Girl

Publication: Five Plays: A Dance of the Forests, The Lion and the Jewel, The Swamp Dwellers, The Trials of Brother Jero, The Strong Breed. Oxford University Press, 1964. (Link)

Three Short Plays. Oxford University Press, 1969. (Link)

Wole Soyinka: Plays 1. Methuen, 1984. (Link)

THE STRONG BREED (1963) 

The play refers to a folk tradition by which one person becomes the 'carrier’ of community evil and symbolically purifies the village in an annual ritual. The hero is Eman, a stranger who has come to this particular village to act as teacher and share his education. 'Those who have much to give,' he says, 'must do so in total loneliness.' On the night of the purification ceremony he learns that Ifada, a helpless idiot boy whom he has befriended, has been selected as 'carrier’ and victim; and he is driven by compassion to take Ifada’s part in the ritual. The crisis brings back memories. We learn that Eman’s father was a 'carrier’ and that Eman has fled the family tradition of symbolic sacrifice. We also learn of Omae, the young Eman’s betrothed, whom he left for many years to pursue his personal destiny and who died soon after his return. Now Eman accepts his past and discovers, 'I am very much my father’s son'—one of 'the strong breed’ who must take these responsibilities upon themselves—and at the end of the play is caught in a trap at the sacred trees and killed. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 10+

Characters: Eman, Sunma, Ifada, A Girl, Jaguna, Oroge, Attendant Stalwarts, Old Man, Omae, Tutor, Priest, Attendants, The Villagers

Publication: Five Plays: A Dance of the Forests, The Lion and the Jewel, The Swamp Dwellers, The Trials of Brother Jero, The Strong Breed. Oxford University Press, 1964. (Link)

Three Short Plays. Oxford University Press, 1969. (Link)

The Trials of Brother Jero, and The Strong Breed: Two Plays. Dramatists Play Service, 1969. (Link)

CHILDE INTERNATIONALE (1964) 

Childe Internationale is a collection of poems that reflect on themes of political upheaval, social justice, and existential reflection. Through a series of richly crafted verses, Soyinka explores the complexities of the human condition and the impact of historical and contemporary struggles on individual and collective consciousness. The collection addresses the concept of internationalism and the quest for a more equitable and humane world, intertwining personal introspection with broader socio-political commentary. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 5 (2f, 3m)

Characters: Politician, Wife, Godwin, Titi, Alvin

Publication: Blackout, Blowout & Beyond: Wole Soyinka’s Satirical Revue Sketches. Edited by Martin Banham in association with Chuck Mike & Judith Greenwood. Africa World Press, 2005. (Link)

Childe Internationale. Fountain Publications, 1987. (Link)

KONGI’S HARVEST (1965)

President Kongi, the dictator of an African developing nation, is trying to modernize his nation after deposing King Oba Danlola. The different tribes are resisting unification, so he tries to reach his goal by any means necessary, including forcing government officials to wear traditional African outfits and seeking advice from the man he deposed. He demands tribute from Danlola in the form of a yam, an important food in the culture. Danlola's former lover, Segi, brings the dictator the head of her father as sacrifice. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 20+

Characters: Oba Danlola, Sarumi, Daodu, Wuraola, Ogbo Aweri, Dende, Segi, Kongi, Organizing Secretary, First Aweri, Second Aweri, Third Aweri, Fourth Aweri, Fifth Aweri, Sixth Aweri, Superintendent, Captain of the Carpenter’s Brigade, Right and Left Ears of State, Retinue, Drummers, Praise-singers, The Carpenter’s Brigade, Photographer, Night Club Habituées

Publication Info: Kongi’s Harvest. Oxford University Press, 1967. (Link)

Wole Soyinka: Collected Plays, Vol. 2. Oxford University Press, 1990. (Link)

THE ROAD (1965)

A play about a day in the strange life of a group of drivers on a Nigerian road. Their aimless existence, waiting for jobs, drinking, sleeping, dreaming of an exciting future is dominated by the obscure but powerful presence of the Professor.(Source)

Cast Requirement: 8+

Characters: Murano, Kotonu, Samson, Salubi, Professor, Chief-in-Town, Say Tokyo Kid, Particulars Joe, Several Lay-Abouts, A Crowd

Publication: The Road. Oxford University Press, 1965. (Link)

Wole Soyinka: Collected Plays, Vol. 1. Oxford University Press, 1973. (Link)

MADMEN AND SPECIALISTS (1970)

Madmen and Specialists is one of Soyinka's most excoriating portrayals of abusers and abused in the new Nigeria ushered in by Biafra and the civil war of 1967-70. Set in the "surgery" of a doctor, the play is populated by mendicants and the "insane," all fodder for "experimentation" by a shape-shifting doctor whose experiments may be more sinister than they at first appear. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 10 (3f, 7m)

Characters: Aafa, Blindman, Goyi, Cripple, Si Bero, Iya Agba, Iya Mate, Dr. Bero, Priest, The Old Man 

Publication: Wole Soyinka: Six Plays. Methuen, 1984. (Link) 

Madmen and Specialists. Alexander Street Press, 2010. (Link)*

JERO’S METAMORPHOSIS (1973)

Cast Requirement: 12 (2f, 10m)

Characters: Brother Jeroboam, Sister Rebecca, Ananaias, Chief Executive Officer, Clerk to the Tourist Board, Chume, Major Silva, Shadrach, Claeb, Isaac, Matthew, A Policewoman 

Publication: Wole Soyinka: Six Plays. Methuen, 1984. (Link) 

Jero’s Metamorphosis. Alexander Street Press, 2010. (Link)*

THE BACCHAE OF EURIPIDES: A COMMUNION RITE (1973)

Wole Soyinka has translated–in both language and spirit–a great classic of ancient Greek theater. In his hands The Bacchae becomes a communal feast, a tumultuous celebration of life, and a robust ritual of the human and social psyche. "The Bacchae is the rites of an extravagant banquet, a monstrous feast," Soyinka writes. "Man reaffirms his indebtedness to earth, dedicates himself to the demands of continuity, and invokes the energies of productivity. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 22+

Characters: Dionysos, Pentheus, Cadmus Officer, Agave, 1st Bacchante, Weeping Bacchante, Others, In-Laws, Bridegroom, Bestman, Bride, Seated Figure, Three Women, Chorus of Slaves, Master of Revels, Vestals, Priests, Floggers, Tiresias

Publication: The Bacchae of Euripides: A Communion Rite. Norton, 1974. (Link)

Wole Soyinka: Collected Plays, Vol. 1. Oxford University Press, 1973. (Link)

DEATH AND THE KING’S HORSEMAN (1976)

Based on events that took place in Oyo, an ancient Yoruba city of Nigeria, in 1946, Wole Soyinka's powerful play concerns the intertwined lives of Elesin Oba, the king's chief horseman; his son, Olunde, now studying medicine in England; and Simon Pilkings, the colonial district officer. The king has died and Elesin, his chief horseman, is expected by law and custom to commit suicide and accompany his ruler to heaven. The stage is set for a dramatic climax when Pilkings learns of the ritual and decides to intervene and Elesin's son arrives home. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 12+

Characters: Praise-Singer, Elesin, Iyaloja, Simon Pilkings, Jane Pilkings, Sergeant Amusa, Joseph, Bride, The Prince, The Resident, Aide-de-Camp, Olunde, Drummers, Women, Young Girls, Dancers at the Ball

Publication: Death and the King’s Horseman. Methuen, 1975. (Link)

Death and the King’s Horseman. Edited by Simon Gikandi. Norton, 2002. (Link)

Wole Soyinka: Six Plays. Methuen, 1984. (Link)

OPERA WONYOSI (1977)

An adaptation of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera and Bertolt Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera. Opera Wonyosi was written and performed in 1977 just before President Bokassa’s crowning manifestation of hubris, his imperial coronation. Soyinka uses him as a coat-hanger for a combined swipe at that dictator’s excesses and the extremes of religious, political, and economic corruption in Nigeria. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 31+

Characters: Dee-Jay, Anikura, Ahmed, De Madam, Capt. Macheath, Matar, Polly, Hookfinger Jake, Dan Dare, Aide, Patient, Baba, Jimmy, Lookout, Vendor, Very Rich Gentleman, Jerubabel, Inspector Brown, Emperor Boky, Sukie, Jenny, Nurse, Old Sugar, Lucy, Neighbour, Colonel Moses, Professor Bamgbapo, Dogo, Alatako, Officer, Priest, Beggars, Gangsters, Layabouts, Whores, Goon-Squad

Publication: Wole Soyinka: Six Plays. Methuen, 1984. (Link) 

Opera Wonyosi. Indiana University Press, 1981. (Link)

PRIORITY PROJECT: PHASE I TO… (1983)

Priority Projects were described by Dapo Adelugba as “offshoots of ‘Before the Blowout’…” Each script lampooned a different project of the Shagari government. Soyinka’s targets were FESTAC 77, Low Cost Housing, Road and Bridge Construction, The Green Revolution, and Abuja. These initiatives were not necessarily bad in themselves, but they were abused and the lack of accountability is a recurrent theme. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 4 (4m)

Characters: Visitor, Digger, Worker, Placard Man

Publication: Blackout, Blowout & Beyond: Wole Soyinka’s Satirical Revue Sketches. Edited by Martin Banham in association with Chuck Mike & Judith Greenwood. Africa World Press, 2005. (Link)

REQUIEM FOR A FUTUROLOGIST (1983)

There existed in Nigeria in the late seventies and early eighties a lot of parapsychologists and so-called prophets who claimed to be able to predict the future. A particularly notorious one among them was Dr. Godspower Oyewole, whose predictions were taken very seriously and were actually believed by several people. Requiem for a Futurologist exposes these charlatans to ridicule while also deriding the people for their levels of gullibility and follies. The play presents two rival futurologists, namely Dr. Godspower Igbehodan and Brother Eleazar Hosannah. In his desperate bid to supplant the former who actually is his boss, the latter not only predicts Igbehodan’s death, he also follows it up quickly with his obituary. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 9+

Characters: The Revd Dr. Godspeak Igbehodan, Alaba, Dr. Semuwe, Eleazar Hosannah, 1st Man, 2nd Man, 1st Woman, 2nd Woman, Kilanko, A Babalawo, Master Carpenter, Gupta Singh, Masquerade, Handlers, Cameraman, Fortune-tellers, Religious Sects, Vendors, Crowd

Publication: Requiem for a Futurologist. Rex Collings, 1985. (Link)

A PLAY OF GIANTS (1984) 

Described by the author as a ‘Fantasia on Aminian theme,’ A Play of Giants presents a savage portrait of a group of dictatorial African leaders at bay in an embassy in New York. The resemblance between them and recent historical characters is only too pronounced. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 15+

Characters: Benefacio Gunema, Emperor Kasco, Field-Marshal Kamini, General Barra Tuboum, Gudrum, Chairman of the Bugara Central Bank, Sculptor, Bugaran Ambassador, Mayor of Hyacombe, Professor Batey, Two Russian Delegates, Two American Delegates, Task Force Specials, Guards, Secretary-General of the United Nations

Publication: A Play of Giants. Methuen, 1984. (Link)

Wole Soyinka: Collected Plays, Vol. 2. Oxford University Press, 1990. (Link)

A SCOURGE OF HYACINTHS (1991)

When the Military decrees that a crime carrying a prison sentence now retroactively warrants summary execution, confusion and fear permeate a society where the brutality and injustice of military rule is parodied by life inside prison. Based on events in Nigeria in the early 1980s. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 9 (2f, 7m)

Characters: Miguel Domingo, The Mother, Augustine Emuke, Kolawole Detiba, Chime, Superintendent, Military Voice, Newsvendor, Announcer

Publication: Wole Soyinka: Plays 2. Methuen, 1999. (Link)

From Zia, With Love; and, A Scourge of Hyacinths. Methuen, 1992. (Link)

FROM ZIA, WITH LOVE (1992)

When the Military decrees that a crime carrying a prison sentence now retroactively warrants summary execution, confusion and fear permeate a society where the brutality and injustice of military rule is parodied by life inside prison. Based on events in Nigeria in the early 1980s. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 16+

Characters: Commandant (Hyacinth), ADC, Sergeant, Director of Security, Minister of Information and Culture, Minister of Education, Minister of Water, Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Health, Minister of Labour, Minister of Home Affairs, Wing-Commander, Number 2, Sebe, Student, Miguel Domingo, Detiba, Emuke, Woman Suppliant, Superintendent, Aremu, Warder, First Trusty, Second Trusty, Third Trusty, Sick Man, Prisoner, Passer-By

Publication: Wole Soyinka: Plays 2. Methuen, 1999. (Link)

From Zia, With Love; and, A Scourge of Hyacinths. Methuen, 1992. (Link)

THE BEAUTIFICATION OF AREA BOY: A LAGOSIAN KALEIDOSCOPE (1995)

Set in Nigeria, amid the scenes of everyday racketeering and general disquiet, the police try to clear the area of undesirables, as a traditional wedding between two illustrious and ambitious families is about to take place. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 18+

Characters: Bokyo, Mama Put, Miseyi, Foreigners, Foreign Dignitaries, Trader, Big Shopper, Military Governor, Sanda, Miseyi’s Attendant, Mama Put’s Daughter, Band Member, Vendor, MC, Mother of the Day, Parking Attendant, Military Governor’s ADC, Barber, Officer, Judge, Minstrel, Accused, Band Member, Cyclist, Prison Warder, Victim, Band Member

Publication: Wole Soyinka: Plays 2. Methuen, 1999. (Link)

The Beatification of Area Boy: a Lagosian Kaleidoscope. Methuen, 1995. (Link)

KING BAABU (2001) 

A naked satire on the rule of General Abacha in Nigeria, the play chronicles the debauched rule of General Basha Bash who takes power in a coup and exchanges his general's uniform for a robe and crown re-christening himself King Baabu. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 15+

Characters: Basha Bash (later King Baabu), Maariya, Fatasimu, General Potipoo, Rout, Dope, Rent, Tikim, Shoki, Kpoki, Commander Bhieu, Chief of Police, Officer, Tutor (later Tutor-Motivator), Attorney General, Biibabae, Spokesman for the Bankers, Chief Justice of Guatuna, Chairman of the Mid-East Bank, Oriental Mystic, Marabout, Other Priests, Potiplum, Potiplan, Mayor of Batwere, Baabu’s Spies, Women Prisoners, Citizens of Batwere, Soldiers, Crowd, Etc. 

Publication: King Baabu: (A Play in the Manner-Roughly-of Alfred Jarry). Methuen, 2002 (Source)