Ruth Leon recommends… Death and the King’s Horseman – Wole Soyinka
Ruth Leon recommendsWole Soyinka
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The greater the honour, the deeper the shame.
In British-occupied Nigeria, the king is dead, and it is the duty of his horseman, Elesin, to accompany him into the afterlife. While lustily enjoying the pleasures of this world, Elesin proudly anticipates his transition to the next but the sacred ritual is interrupted. A night of devastating tragedy unfolds and another sacrifice is made.
Nigerian Nobel Prize-winning author Wole Soyinka is 90. He is widely regarded as one of Africa’s greatest writers and one of the world’s most important dramatists.
He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature for his “wide cultural perspective and poetic overtones fashioning the drama of existence”. This is his most famous play.
This production, from Canada’s Stratford Festival, stars Anthony Santiago as Elesin and is directed by Tawiah M’Carthy.
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