NIGERIA: Nigerian nobel laureate Wole Soyinka's celebrated on stage in the play "Eni Ogun", a theatrical adaptation based on the autobiographical works of the literary icon and activist

Record ID: 236154

  • Title: NIGERIA: Nigerian nobel laureate Wole Soyinka's celebrated on stage in the play "Eni Ogun", a theatrical adaptation based on the autobiographical works of the literary icon and activist
  • Date: 15th July 2013
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) WOLE OGUNTOKUN, DIRECTOR, SAYING: "I'm glad I could write this and I hope that it becomes part of literature on him, it becomes an important part of the things people say about him, about his life, about his work, about his journey in life, that's what I'm hoping for."
  • Embargoed: 30th July 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Nigeria
  • Country: Nigeria
  • Topics: Arts,Politics,People
  • Reuters ID: LVA172KG3TPM9WAIP2NKT716YYT7
  • Story Text: The life of one of Nigeria's foremost literary icons, Wole Soyinka was brought to the stage at the Muson Centre in uptown Lagos this past weekend.
    The play titled "Eni Ogun", meaning 'companion of the god of iron' in Yoruba is based on Soyinka's "Ake" - a chronicle of Nigeria's history told from the writer's experiences growing up - from his childhood, growing up under his activist mother, his life in college and his role in the country's political history.
    The production, staged by the local Renegade Theatre company, opened on July 13 for three days to coincide with Soyinka's 79th birthday.
    Wole Oguntokun, the director and founder of Renegade Theatre said it was his most challenging project.
    "Trying to do justice to some great works of literature, you know trying to do justice to one of the world's best writers, I had to be careful how I portrayed him, you know how I portrayed the things he had done because they came from his memoirs, it wasn't me, I wasn't there so you know, trying to keep it as accurate as possible and also as entertaining as possible, it was a bit challenging," he said.
    Soyinka, a playwright and one of Africa's leading intellectuals was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986.
    Unlike many stage plays that have been produced his literary works, Eni Ogun is the first to be produced about his life, Oguntokun says.
    The play also sheds light on social and political issues plaguing Nigeria since independence when Soyinka strongly criticized military dictators leading to his imprisonment in 1967 and later his escape from Nigeria in 1994.
    But despite having such a popular and revered subject, the production was poorly attended throughout the three-day showing.
    Critics attribute the low ticket sales to Nigerians' disinterest with theatre and preference for movies and television. Nigeria is the home of Nollywood, the third biggest film industry after Hollywood and Bollywood.
    "Professor Wole Soyinka is a very gigantic person in Nigeria, he's done a lot of things and I think he deserves this even I was disappointed when I got here to find that this place was not jammed full," said Paul Oyediran, an engineer surprised at the poor turnout.
    The play's director, Oguntokun who is also the creator of the annual "Season of Soyinka" - a series of plays now in its seventh season, says the success of the production lies in it being appreciated as a piece of art that stays true to literature.
    "I'm glad I could write this and I hope that it becomes part of literature on him, it becomes an important part of the things people say about him, about his life, about his work, about his journey in life, that's what I'm hoping for," he said.
    Renegade Theatre is the only West African company to have participated at the Shakespeare Olympiad held at Shakespeare's Globe in London last year.
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