Biography

Ola Rotimi was one of that remarkable group of writers, among them Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe, to emerge in post-independence Nigeria. Inevitably, their subject matter was political. A complete man of the theatre - an actor, director, choreographer and designer - he created performance spaces, influenced by traditional architectural forms. In 1966, he became a research fellow, and, in 1969, a lecturer at what became Obafemi Awolowo University in Ife.

Although Rotimi was trained in a western tradition of theatre, his work returned strongly to Nigerian forms. His plays involved large casts, with musicians, singers, dancers and acrobats. He drew on the performance traditions of Nigeria's ethnic communities, and a range of indigenous languages, woven in with the predominantly English text.

Rotimi was born in Sapele, Nigeria. In 1959 he was awarded a federal government scholarship which took him to Boston University, where he graduated in 1963 in fine arts. In 1966, he earned a master's degree - specializing in playwriting - at Yale school of drama, where his first substantial play, Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again, won the best student drama award. He returned to Ife before moving, in 1977, to the University of Port Harcourt. (Full bio)

Plays

The Gods Are Not to Blame (1968)

In this reworking of Oedipus the King, the action is transposed to Africa. Right at the start of the play, the Priest of Ifa predicts that the newborn son of King Adetusa and his Queen Ojuola will ‘kill his own father and then marry his own mother!’ The baby's feet are tied with a string of cowries and sacrificed to the gods. Now years later, the child Odewale is King and married to Ojuola. An old man, Alaka, half clown, half philosopher, who combines the characters of the Messenger and the Shepherd of Sophocles' play, comes to tell Odewale that his ‘parents’ have died. However, Alaka also lets slip that they were not Odewale's real parents. Shamed by the suggestion that he is illegitimate, Odewale brutally forces Alaka to reveal the truth: that Alaka found him in the bush and brought him to the neighbouring Ijekun chief to be fostered. The terrible revelation that the Priest of Ifa's prophecy has been fulfilled leads to the suicide of Ojuola and blinding of Odewale. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 20+

Characters: Narrator, King Adetusa, Queen Ojuola, King Odewale, Aderopa, Ogun Priest, Baba Fakunle, Abero, Alaka, Gbonka, Iya Aburo, Royal Bard, Boy, Bodyguard, Townspeople, and more

Publication Info: The Gods Are Not to Blame. Oxford Univ. Press, 1974. (Link)

Kurunmi (1971) 

A piece of history brought to the stage, Kurunmi recounts the story of nineteenth century Nigeria’s Ibadan-Ijaiye war. Having re-established itself after a detrimental sacking, the Kingdom of Oyo depended on two major towns for its protection: Ibadan and Ijaye. Because of their importance, the king bestowed titles upon the town’s rulers, Basorun of Ibadan and Kurunmi of Ijaye. Realizing he would die soon, the king informed both men that he would like his son to succeed him as ruler, though it went against the Oyo constitution. A conflict arose between Basorun and Kurunmi, igniting a battle. Rotimi centers his retelling on Kurunmi and his dogged pursuit of traditionalism. 

Cast Requirement: 30+

Characters: Members of the Ijaiye Camp, Members of the Ibadan Camp, Members of the Egba Camp, Warriors and Christian Converts

Publication Info: Kurunmi: An Historical Tragedy. Oxford University Press, 1971. (Link)

Ovonramwen Nogbaisi (1974)

In Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, Rotimi contends with the mark of British colonialism on the life of Ovonramwen Nogbaisi and his rule over the Benin Empire. This theatrical adaptation revises the king’s legacy to give it nuance and highlights the tragic impact of British forces on many African nations. The play begins with Ovonramwen attempting to deal with rebellion and infighting of his subjects within the empire. In the midst of this chaos, white men arrive in Benin requesting the king sign a trade treaty. He refuses. However, his chiefs later promise to give him up to the British. In a twist, the king gives himself up only to escape in the hope of continuing to fight off the colonial powers. Ultimately, Ovonramwen and the Benin Empire are captured.

Cast Requirement: 40+ (8f, 40m, ensemble)

Characters: Various

Publication Info: Ovonramwen Nogbaisi. Oxford University Press, 1974. (Link)

Grip Am, A comedy (1973)

Ise, a poor farmer with a lot of problems and a tumultuous marriage is visited by an angel with a message. God has seen all your troubles and is tired of your marital squabbles so he sent me to grant you one wish each. Ise requests that if anyone or anything climbs his orange tree and he says "Grip Am" the tree will grab the climber and not release its grip until he (Ise) tells the tree to let go. In one comedic twist after another, Ise uses this power to get everything he wants. He even traps Angel of Death on to tree and makes him swear not to kill him or his wife ever. Ola Rotimi, the Author of the Nigerian Pidgin English Dictionary, wrote Grip Am entirely in Pidgin English and sends a more serious message beneath the humor. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 7+ (2f, 5m, ensemble)

Characters: Ife, Asoh, Temedua, Oroise, Oye, Angelia, Iku, Townspeople

Publication Info: Grip Am, Alexander Street Press* (Link)

Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again: A Comedy (1977)

The award-winning noted playwright here takes a comic swipe at ideological misfits and opportunists who strut the ever-accommodating political landscape of contemporary Africa. A former military Major, takes to politics. His motives have far more to do with vanity than patriotism, and his attempts to adapt to a situation he hardly comprehends produce highly comic results. His predicament is complicated by the unexpected arrival of his American wife who discovers two more marriages contracted without her knowledge and her husband beset by political problems. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 14 (4f, 10m)

Characters: Rashida, Oshodi, Sikira, Ogun, Tunji, Mustafa, Orange Seller, Liza, Madam Ajanaku, Ojo, Bode, The Executive Committee, Time Correspondent, UPI Correspondent, Katerine Solanke, The Men and Women of Quorra.

Publication Info: Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again: A Comedy. Oxford University Press, 1977. (Link)

If: A Tragedy of the Ruled (1979) 

First performed at the University of Port Harcourt Theatre in 1979, If is a powerful political allegory set in a typical multi-tenanted compound which replicates the courtyard form. The compound accommodates characters of different class, occupation, and linguistic background. It is a microcosm of Nigerian society, and the play, which makes its political statement directly, concerns the exploitation of the people by the powerful elites. In If, Rotimi shows that though the diversity of tongues among Nigerians may be used by the politically devious to divide and corrupt, by determined effort and commitment people can break through these barriers. This is no empty sloganising: in the play Rotimi uses English, pidgin English, and indigenous languages and devises a process of translation that is one of the most effective features of the play. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 20+ (6f, 14m)

Characters: Papa, Mama, Dr. Hamidu Gidado, Chinwe Ejindu, Onyema Ejindu, Banji Falegan, Akpan Ntuk Akpan, Adiagha, Ukot, Prof Tekena Dokubo, Betty Oviamwen, Garuba Kazaure, Mama Rosa, Landlord, Elkenah Igwe, Policeman, Leprosy patients, and more

Publication Info: If: A Tragedy of the Ruled. Heinemann Educational Books, 1983. (Link)

Hopes of the Living Dead: A Drama of Struggle (1985)

Hopes of the Living Dead, perhaps Rotimi's most optimistic work, draws on a historical incident from 1924 to illustrate the great potential of dynamic, visionary leadership and human alliances to surmount oppression. The central figure of the play is Ikoli Harcourt Whyte, a distinguished composer of choral music who is suffering from leprosy. When colonial authorities move to evict the leprosy patients from a Port Harcourt hospital, Harcourt Whyte organises a protest and spearheads the establishment of a new community called the Uzuakoli Leper Settlement. The play advances one of Rotimi's primary political convictions, that people of diverse backgrounds and languages must transcend their differences and unite to fight political persecution. (Source)*

Cast Requirement: 15+ (4f, 11m, ensemble)

Characters: Ikoli Harcourt Whyte, Hannah, Nweke, Ayisatu, Medical Officer, Superintendent of Police, Leprosy patients, and more.

Publication Info: Hopes of the Living Dead: A Drama of Struggle. Spectrum Books, 1988. (Link)