A SEASON OF SOYINKA

born 1934. Son of Ogun. Writer of many books, especially IDANRE - name of my town.

We used his book, in JSS 2 - THE LION AND THE JEWEL - starring Sidi, the village belle and Lakunle, the bookworm, who'd been to the big cities of Ibadan and Lagos and wouldn't or couldn't pay her bride price and the Baale of Ilujinle, the Lion and em em is it Sadiku - Baroka's wife with the vituperative mouth.

The book probably never got interesting until we got to that part of the play that Lakunle had to reel out bombastic words - "this is barbaric, outdated, ..." Everyone of us loved that aspect. I remember i crammed those words o - i liked to use them too - Poor Lakunle.

Much later, on my own i read Jero's Plays and etc. The Jero's Plays is also one heck of an interesting piece of work and then Howu, Elesin Oba! Elesin Oba!What tryst does the cock go to keep that he must forget his tail at home?

Then i read ABIKU - charmed circles at my feet...armulets do not tie me to...(can't recall).

I haven't read MADMEN AND SPECIALIST. I recall waliking into a bookshop some years back and demanding that book. The woman on duty asked - guess - "Se Medical Book ni?"("Is it a Medical Book?")

A Season of Wole Soyinka is currently taking place at Terra Kulture on Tiamiyu Savage in Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. This celebration of Soynka at 73 is produced by laspapi in collaboration with the British Council/Nigeria and Terra Kulture and started on July 1, 2007 and is expected to continue every Sunday till the end of July. All plays will be at Terra Kulture, and there will be two shows every Sunday at 3pm and 6pm. Already staged are - Who's Afraid of Wole Soyinka?- written by Wole Oguntokun (July 1) and - The Lion and the Jewel- directed by Tunji Sotimirin (July 8) - Death and the King's Horseman (July 15)- directed by Segun Adefila - Camwood on the Leaves (July 22)- directed by Lekan Balogun.

The Season ends on July 29 with The Jero Plays (Trials of Brother Jero and Jero's Metamorphosis) directed by Wole Oguntokun and after that is another - THEATRE @ TERRA - Wole Oguntokun's.