Plays for Nigeria of the Seventies and Eighties

Abstract

After his return to Nigeria in 1975, Soyinka became increasingly concerned with the need to communicate political ideas to a mass audience through the performing arts. He developed a distinctive agit-prop theatre which made particularly effective use of music and song. During this period, he wrote Opera Wonyosi (1977), Before the Blow-out (made up of Home to Roost and Big Game Safari (1978)); Rice Unlimited (1981), Die Still Rev. Dr Godspeak! (1982) — a commissioned radio play which emerged as the stage play Requiem for a Futurologist (1983), and Priority Projects (made up of Festac 77, Green Revolution, Ethical Revolution and Abuja, 1983). In addition to these works, he also drafted A Play of Giants, scheduled for performance at the University of Yale during 1981 but not produced or published until 1984.