The drumming begins. A king has died and his spirit must be escorted to the ancestors. It is an honor that falls on the king’s horseman, Elesin. In the marketplace, the Praise-Singer prepares Elesin for his ritual passage from life to death to fulfill his duty. But their world is shaken by Elesin’s carnal temptation and the interference of a well-meaning but misguided British official. Based on an incident in 1946 Nigeria, Nobel Prize winner Wole Soyinka’s great African tragedy is set against the backdrop of a colonial mindset and a vibrant, mystical culture in peril. Chuck Smith of Chicago’s Goodman Theatre directs.
Running time: 2 hours 38 minutes, with one intermission
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The role of the Praise-singer (3:05)
Yoruban view of death (4:24)
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Play image: G. Valmont Thomas (Praise-Singer)
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Get the most out of your play experience with this in-depth exploration of the play, its themes, playwright, characters and discussion of Yoruba culture.
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Age recommendation: Based on an actual event in Nigeria in 1946, the play begins with a colorful scene of Yoruban music and dance and ends with an onstage suicide. In between, the play deals with thought-provoking and mature issues, but is also suspenseful, musical and often full of action. Children who are prepared to handle a bit of bawdy language should enjoy and learn from this exploration of an exciting and unfamiliar culture.
Please note: Children under 6 are not admitted to plays or other events.
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Background and thoughts on the play (4:59)
The setting (4:51)
The production (4:51)
Synopsis: Death and the King’s Horseman, a tragic drama by Nigeria’s Nobel Laureate playwright Wole Soyinka, opens with vibrant drumming and a Praise-singer creating a celebratory atmosphere in a Nigerian outdoor market. Accompanying them is a man full of life, the protagonist, Elesin Oba. He has chosen this marketplace of life in which to enact ritual suicide, his communal duty.
According to Yoruba ritual practice, Elesin, the king’s horseman, must die 30 days after the king’s death to accompany him into the other world. The Praise-singer’s riddle-filled poetry reminds Elesin of his duty to serve, after death, as intermediary to the living. Elesin boasts that he will not fail.
As Elesin chants the story of the Not-I bird, a premonition of death, Iyaloja, the powerful Mother of the Market, enters with other women. They drape this man of honor resplendently in bright red alari cloth and richly woven sanyan.
Elesin spots a beautiful young woman whom he wishes to wed — a strange request just before death. He reassures the women that he will die after his physical desire is fulfilled. Iyaloja agrees reluctantly since she does not wish to offend him, and she trusts him to complete his obligation.
The tragic events in the play unfold within the historical context of British colonial presence among the Yoruba.
Yoruba talking-drums send out an ominous rumble as British district officer Simon Pilkings and his wife, Jane, dance the tango on their veranda, preparing for a costume ball that evening. They’re wearing egungun garments (used for sacred Yoruba death rituals). Amusa, a Yoruba police sergeant, is appalled at their casual desecration of the masks. He tells Pilkings that Elesin is about to commit ritual suicide as part of Yoruba custom.
Elesin’s name arouses Pilkings’ annoyance — previously, he had helped Elesin’s son, Olunde, to attend medical school in London over Elesin’s strong objections. Pilkings, reluctant to deal with the impending suicide (barbaric in his eyes), sends Amusa to arrest Elesin. As district officer, he would rather attend the ball in honor of the visiting British prince.
Amusa’s attempt to arrest Elesin is blocked by the market women guarding the bridal chamber. They raucously tease Amusa for his loss of manhood from serving whites. He flees. Elesin emerges, recognizing that it is time.
Elesin appears to get hypnotized by the powerful gbedu drums and the Praise-singer’s chants. He declares that he is no longer bound to the earth. His trance-like dance movements guide him toward the death passage.
The action then moves to the European ball at the Residency. Olunde appears, having just arrived from London. He tells Jane that he had received a telegram announcing the king’s death and knew that, by tradition, his father would die a month later. An educated man with one foot in each culture, Olunde wants to advise Pilkings not to interfere in the ritual. He draws a distinction between Elesin’s death as a communal duty and what he’s observed of the “mass suicide” in World War II Europe.
But it is too late — Elesin misses the ritual timing of his death. The colonial officers arrive and imprison him. As the king’s horseman who failed to die, Elesin is tainted and dishonored. His people are left on the edge of a precipice without connection to the ancestral realm. Their world with its rituals and ceremonies has been overthrown, and they are left shaken and adrift. - Ketu H. Ketrak