In The Bacchae of Euripides (1973), he has rewritten the Bacchae for the African stage and in Opera Wonyosi (performed 1977, publ. 1963), The Road ( 1965) and Death and the King’s Horseman (performed 1976, publ. Among Soyinka’s serious philosophic plays are (apart from “ The Swamp Dwellers“) The Strong Breed (performed 1966, publ. 1967) and Madmen and Specialists (performed 1970, publ. 1973), A Dance of the Forests (performed 1960, publ.1963), Kongi’s Harvest (performed 1965, publ. 1963) with its sequel, Jero’s Metamorphosis (performed 1974, publ. Later, satirical comedies are The Trial of Brother Jero (performed in 1960, publ. He wrote his first plays during his time in London, The Swamp Dwellers and The Lion and the Jewel (a light comedy), which were performed at Ibadan in 19 and were published in 1963. He bases his writing on the mythology of his own tribe-the Yoruba-with Ogun, the god of iron and war, at the centre. Synge, but links up with the traditional popular African theatre with its combination of dance, music, and action. He writes in English and his literary language is marked by great scope and richness of words.Īs dramatist, Soyinka has been influenced by, among others, the Irish writer, J.M. Soyinka has published about 20 works: drama, novels and poetry. For this he was arrested in 1967, accused of conspiring with the Biafra rebels, and was held as a political prisoner for 22 months until 1969.
He has periodically been visiting professor at the universities of Cambridge, Sheffield, and Yale.ĭuring the civil war in Nigeria, Soyinka appealed in an article for cease-fire. In 1960, he founded the theatre group, “The 1960 Masks” and in 1964, the “Orisun Theatre Company”, in which he has produced his own plays and taken part as actor. At the same time, he taught drama and literature at various universities in Ibadan, Lagos, and Ife, where, since 1975, he has been professor of comparative literature. In 1960, he was awarded a Rockefeller bursary and returned to Nigeria to study African drama. During the six years spent in England, he was a dramaturgist at the Royal Court Theatre in London 1958-1959. After preparatory university studies in 1954 at Government College in Ibadan, he continued at the University of Leeds, where, later, in 1973, he took his doctorate. W ole Soyinka was born on 13 July 1934 at Abeokuta, near Ibadan in western Nigeria. Share via Email: Wole Soyinka – Biographical Share this content via Email.Share on LinkedIn: Wole Soyinka – Biographical Share this content on LinkedIn.Tweet: Wole Soyinka – Biographical Share this content on Twitter.
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