PAPERBACK ISBN: 0-88258-121-X $31.95

240 pages; 6 x 9 inches

The Theatre of Femi Osofisan

by Sandra L. Richards

Ancient Songs Set Ablaze: The Theatre of Femi Osofisan is the first systematic study of the life and work of Femi Osofisan, the controversial Nigerian playwright and two-time winner of the prestigious Association of Nigerian Authors Award.  In it, critic Sandra L. Richards traces Osofisan’s upbringing, noting his birth in a Yoruba farming village just after World War II and coming into maturity during the heady days of decolonization and independence.  The years following were marked by the chaos of civil war, coups, and counter-coups d’etat in Nigeria and other African nations. Richards ably reveals how this background serves as a backdrop for Osofisan’s plays, which portray ordinary men and women buffeted by a world of sociopolitical and economic change, and which often challenge audiences to write different endings for the works. Osofisan also uses his Yoruba and Western heritages to critique contemporary condi­tions in Nigeria and much of Africa.  He compels his audiences to envision, Richards concludes, how they might change their sociopolitical world by imagining other solutions.  Her examination of the Osofisan’s appropriation of the Yoruba “trickster” god Esu provides important theoretical tools for analyses of African and African American drama.

© 1998-2000 Howard University, all rights reserved.  Last updated:11 January 2006.
HOWARD UNIVERSITY PRESS.  2225 Georgia Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20059.  Phone (202) 238-2570
Webmaster: howardupress@howard.edu
Design & Production: Jamie Walker  
DISCLAIMER