Background
Osofisan, Femi was born on June 16, 1946 in Erunwon, Nigeria.
(The distinguished Nigerian playwright directed the first ...)
The distinguished Nigerian playwright directed the first performance of this play at the Arts Theatre at the University of Ibadan. Osofisan's incisive vision is put at the service of oppressed humanity. His over-riding theme is that the machinery of oppression in human society is created by man, but man is also capable of demolishing it. The production includes Yoruba songs and incantations, and a glossary provides an English translation - as a guide for other directors to substitute appropriate dirges.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9781291796/?tag=2022091-20
(Winner of the first Association of Nigerian Authors drama...)
Winner of the first Association of Nigerian Authors drama prize in 1983, Femi Osofisan is an important, emerging voice in contemporary theatre. He probes the agency of the ordinary man and woman in an age when the possibilities for productive labor have been globalized, capital is hoarded in the strongboxes of a relatively small number of transnational corporations, and a Nigerian elite further strips the nation of its tremendous physical and moral resources. Grounding his vision of change in a dialectical reading of history, Osofisan manipulated his Yoruba and Western heritages in order to speak of the challenges facing his society and to scrutinize the practice of art. To some Nigerians, he is a radical who is sounding a welcome critique; to others, he is a subversive, intent on wrenching society from its moorings; and to still others, he is a contradictory mix of socialist rhetoric and romantic, elitist impulses.This volume comprises four plays-THE ORIKI OF A GRASSHOPPER, ESU and the VAGABOND MINSTRELS, BIRTHDAYS ARE NOT FOR DYING, and MOROUNTODON-and an introduction by Abiola Irele that examines the playwright's achievement. The plays combine traditional Nigerian folk figures and legends with modern themes, or use the traditional to underscore, and comment on, the corruption and danger found in modern life.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0882581813/?tag=2022091-20
Osofisan, Femi was born on June 16, 1946 in Erunwon, Nigeria.
Born in the village of Erunwon, Ogun State, Nigeria, Osofisan attended primary school at Ife and secondary school at Government College, Ibadan. He then attended the University of Ibadan, going on to do post-graduate studies at the Sorbonne, Paris.
A frequent theme that his novels explore is the conflict between good and evil. He is in fact a didactic writer whose works seek to correct his decadent society. He subsequently held faculty positions at the University of Ibadan, where he retired as full professor in 2011.
He is currently a Distinguished Professor of Theatre Arts, Kwara State University, Nigeria.
In 2016, he became the first African to be awarded the prestigious Thalia Prize by the International Association of Theatre Critics. Osofisan has three prose works Ma"ami, Abigail and Cordelia, first produced in newspaper columns, in The Daily Times and then The Guardian (Nigeria).
Several of Osofisan"s plays are adaptations of works by other writers: Women of Owu from Euripides" The Trojan Women. Who"s Afraid of Solarin? from Nikolai Gogol"s The Government Inspector.
Number More the Wasted Breed from Wole Soyinka"s The Strong Breed.
Another Raft from J. P. Clark"s The Raft. Tegonni: An African Antigone from Sophocles′ Antigone, and others
(Winner of the first Association of Nigerian Authors drama...)
(The distinguished Nigerian playwright directed the first ...)
Member Association Nigerian Authors (president 1989-1990), Centerstage Africa (founder, director), Pan African Writers Association (Vice-President West Africa).