There are still more events happening around Lagos commemorating the Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka’s 80th birthday. This version of the Lion and the Jewel is brought to you by Thespian Family Theatre.
The Lion and the Jewel is a comedy set in the small remote village of Ilujinle. There are three central characters: Lakunle, an eager but naïve schoolteacher who accepts Western ideas and modernity without really understanding them; Baroka, the village chief, who sees modern ideas as a threat to his power; and Sidi, the jewel of the village, a beautiful woman who will choose one of the men for a husband. The characters are exaggerated: Lakunle is arrogant and talks too much, and Baroka is cunning, but they are ultimately likable. Unlike many of Soyinka’s later plays, there is no evil in this play, and the author pokes only gentle fun at his characters. In the end, the men will have to deal with each other. As Baroka says, “the old must flow into the new.” The play focuses on several conflicts that Soyinka presents but does not attempt to resolve. Lakunle and Baroka embody the contrary urges toward modernity and tradition. They personify the two sides of the major social and political issue in Africa during the last half of the twentieth century.
Its happening on July 27th & August 2nd – 23rd& 30th.
3.00 pm & 6:00 pm
Freedom Park, Lagos Island & Terra Kulture Plot 1376, Tiamiyu Savage, Off Ahmadu Bello Way, VI
No Comments