The play is directed by Ghanaian-Canadian playwright, Tawiah M’Carthy.
By Editor
“Death and the King’s Horseman,” a Literature play by foremost Nigerian Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, is currently showing at The Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada until the 29th of October, 2022.
The Literature, “Death and the King‘s Horseman,” was first performed at the University of Ife in March 1975 and has gone on to be performed at more international stages some of which includes; The London’s Royal National Theatre in April 2009, the St. Louis Black Repertory Theater February 2008, Oregon Shakespeare Festival from February 14th to July 5th, 2009, The Crane Creations Theatre Company, in 2021 likewise, led a Play Date event of, “Death and the King’s Horseman”. In the same vein, in 2021, the play was performed on stage at Terra Kulture Lagos, Nigeria. It was directed by Bolanle Austen-Peters. A Yoruba translation ‘Iku Olokun Esin’ was also performed at the National Theater, Lagos, Nigeria, and it was directed by Olusegun Ojewuyi.
According to some Yoruba traditions, the death of the king must be followed by the ritual suicide of some notable persons in his chambers which includes; the king’s horseman as well as the king’s dog and horse. It is believed that the horseman’s spirit is essential to helping the King’s spirit ascend to the afterlife, otherwise, the king’s spirit will wander the earth and bring harm to his people. This is the plot of the play, “Death and the King’s Horseman”.
This play, centers around the protagonist, Elesin Oba, who is the horseman to the king, who fails to perform the traditional ritual suicide after the death of the king.
The play is directed by playwright, Tawiah M’Carthy, a Ghanaian-born Canadian actor and playwright alongside a team including Wole Oguntokuna Nigerian playwright, theatre administrator and newspaper columnist, Sarah Uwadiae, and Adekunle Olorundare.
The Stratford Festival is one of Canada’s most prestigious theatre art festivals. The festival runs from April to October in the city Stratford, Ontario, Canada. This year’s edition began on Wednesday, 6th April, and will be rounding off on Sunday, October 30th, 2022.
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