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Babsajayi@yahoo.com Toronto, Ontario, Canada

KONGI AT 70:
DEATH AND THE KING'S HORSEMAN IN TORONTO

n July 13, 2004, Professor Oluwole Akinwande Soyinka will turn seventy. The winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize for Literature is being honoured in Toronto, Canada by the AfriCan Theatre Ensemble with the production of one of his most successful and outstanding plays, Death and the King's Horseman. The premiere of the play took place on Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at the Artword Theatre. The production will run till May 30, 2004. Two matinee performances will also take place at York University for high school students in Toronto on May 25, 2004. The matinee will be free and is open to all.

Set in the ancient city of Oyo in 1945 in a pre-independent Nigeria, Death and the King's Horseman showcased the rich culture, music, dance and drama of the African world in general and the Yoruba people in particular. The story is based on an Oyo tradition, which expects - as a rule - that the King's Horseman, the Elesin-Oba accompany the Oba, the king of Oyo on his final journey to the great beyond. The Elesin-Oba has an ancestral duty to take the final trip to the beyond with the Kabiyesi. But standing in the way was the District Officer, the representative of the colonial power and a symbol of foreign interference and incursion into the tradition and beliefs of the people of Oyo and Nigeria.

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The District Officer sees "barbarism" and a crude tradition, a suicide at best, but the Elesin-Oba sees a "duty", a duty to his people and his ancestors. He was ready - although somewhat reluctant having had the best of life so far and desirous of more - to give his life and to accompany the king. While Simon Pilkings, the District Officer was hell bent, along with his lieutenant, to prevent a murder and left no stone untouched in the discharge of his colonial duty, the Olohun-Iyo urged on the Elesin-Oba and prodded him in every linguistic way possible. The Olohun-Iyo acted by Tony Adah brought out the power of words and poetic renditions. His sharp voice and clear renditions helped to add grace and colour to the play. His gestures, dance steps, arms bent and swung around under his agbada now and again and his rich and salty voice brought glamour to the play. The sweetness of his renditions and the graceful steps helped to depict a good image of the Olohun-Iyo and brought out the poetic colour of the play.

Elesin-Oba!
I call you by that name
only this last time.
Remember
when I said,
if you cannot come
tell my horse
(Pause)
What?
I cannot hear you
I said,
If you cannot come
Whisper
In the ears of my horse.
Is your tongue
Severed from the roots
Elesin?

Olohun-Iyo (Tony Adah), a doctoral student in Theatre Arts at the University of Toronto has played many roles in the plays of Professor Femi Osofisan at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Death and the King's Horseman provide its audience with the rich ceremonial language and dance, music and songs in the very Soyinkareque way. The drums and dance laced within and between the scenes are testament to the Yoruba way of celebrating life and in conformity with Soyinka's theatre. Choreographed by Yinka Farinde, the song writer and musician, Death and the King's Horseman would have been better with a lead actor who could raise his voice and be majestic as his position and place in society dictate. Donald Carr still has enough time to make changes and to improve on his premiere outing. He has what it takes to do so and must act quickly. His agada when replaced by the Iyaloja was not to a particularly better one. The stage direction and setting were quite good and reflected the time and age of the play.

With five scenes, two of which were set in the marketplace, the melting pot and meeting point for the various segments of the Yoruba society, the production had its best moments at the District Officer, Simon Pilkings' residence. Simon Pilkings, Sergeant Amusa, Joseph, the houseboy of the Pilkingses, Mrs Pilkings and the Aide-de-Camp put up an impressive performance. Olunde (Ayodele Adewumi) also stood out in this production. He successfully brought out the contradictions in the actions and activities of the colonial power and highlighted the difference between the West and the African world.

Simon Pilkings (Ian Morfitt) has a degree in drama from the University of Toronto while Mrs Pilkings (Catherine Harrison) also has a degree in drama from Leeds University. The Pilkings left a lasting impression and left strong images of their roles in your memory. With an appropriate costume and setting, they successfully evoked the colonial era of the play. Along with Sergeant Amusa and their houseboy, Joseph, they brought the audience to fits of laughter, adding a much-needed relief to the morbid quest for death by Elesin-Oba and Olohun-Iyo. The market women must be commended for sustaining the tempo of the play and their handling of the scene with the visit of Sergeant Amusa. Kudos must be given to the young girls who played market girls.

Death and the King's Horseman was directed by Ronald Weihs, himself a playwright and director. His is the founder of Artword Theatre along with Judith Sandiford. Judith was the set designer for the production. The cast of the play included Donald Carr as Elesin-Oba, Tony Adah as Olohun-Iyo, Ayodele Adewunmi as Plunde, Ian Morfitt as Simon Pilkings, Catherine Harrison as Mrs. Jane Pilkings, Sistah Lois Jacob as Iyalode, Jude Idada as Sergeant Amusa. The market women/girls are Funmi Olumade, Consuela Smith, Randi McQueen, Opeyemi Jiboye, Dara Dada, Rebecca Fisseha and Tolani Adeleke-Rufai. Chima Osakwe was Joseph, houseboy to Mr. And Mrs. Pilkings, Kurt Spenrath as Aide-de-Camp, and Toyin Dada as the bride.

Profesor Modupe Olaogun, the Artistic Director of the AfriCan Theatre Ensemble, produced the play. The AfriCan Theatre Ensemble has come a long way since 1998 when Professor Olaogun at York University founded it. The Ensemble has made it possible for Death and the King's Horseman to make its Canadian debut. She was glad the play "affords us the opportunity to pay tribute to Soyinka" who has given, according to her "to the world a phenomenal gift of worlds amazingly recreated in his many outstanding plays, as well as his great poetry, novels, films, biographies, critical reflections and music". Death and the King's Horseman will remain at the Artword Theatre in Toronto until May 30, 2004. Reservations can be made by calling 416-366-7723 ext. 290 or you can book online at www.artword.net. Group and family bookings also available at 416-408-1146.