Death and the King's Horseman
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published:2nd Jul '98
Should be back in stock very soon
Based on real events that took place in Oyo, the ancient Yoruba city of Nigeria, in 1946, Nobel Prize-winner Wole Soyinka's play tells how Simon Pilkings, a well-meaning District Officer, intervenes to prevent the ritual suicide of the Yoruba chief, Elesin. This Student Edition includes a full introduction, commentary and questions for study.
"The action of the play is as inevitable and eloquent as in Antigone: a clash of values and cultures so fundamental that tragedy issues: a tragedy for each individual, each tribe" Daily Telegraph
"This play, by the winner of a Nobel Prize for Literature, asks: 'On the authority of what gods' the white aliens rupture the world. It puts exciting political theatre back on the agenda. . . a masterpiece of 20th century drama" Guardian
Elesin Oba, the King's Horseman, has a single destiny. When the King dies, he must commit ritual suicide and lead his King's favourite horse and dog through the passage to the world of the ancestors. A British Colonial Officer, Pilkings, intervenes.
This edition features an interview with the author.
Commentary and notes by Jane Plastow
This play, by the winner of a Nobel Prize for Literature, asks: 'On the authority of what gods' the white aliens rupture the world. It puts exciting political theatre back on the agenda. . . a masterpiece of 20th century drama * Guardian *
A transfixing work of modern world drama * Independent *
clearly a masterpiece. . . he achieves the full impact of Greek tragedy * Irving Wardle, Independent on Sunday *
the action of the play is as inevitable and eloquent as in Antigone: a clash of values and cultures so fundamental that tragedy issues: a tragedy for each individual, each tribe * Michael Schmidt, Daily Telegraph *
ISBN: 9780413695505
Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 10mm
Weight: 156g
160 pages
New edition