Dec 16, 2009

The Oxford Dictionary of Plays | Death and the King's Horsemen

Death and the King's Horsemen

Author: Wole Soyinka

First Performance: 1976, Ife, Nigeria

Published: 1975

Genre: Trag. in 5 scenes; prose and verse

Setting: Town of Oyo, western Nigeria, during the Second World War

Cast: 9m, 3f, extras

Following Yoruba religious practice, Elesin Oba is about to commit ritual suicide in order to accompany his late chief, the Alafin of Oyo, on his journey to the spirit world. On the way to his death, Elesin, who is escorted by a group of praise-singers and drummers, encounters a beautiful young woman in the marketplace. Although she is engaged to the son of the market-woman Iyaloja, Iyaloja gives her blessing to Elesin's marriage to her before he dies. Meanwhile, the British District Officer Pilkings and his wife throw a fancy-dress ball to welcome the arrival of the Prince of...

[The entire page is 519 words long]

The Oxford Dictionary of Plays | Death and the King's Horsemen

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