Ola rotimi autobiography pdf

Ola Rotimi

Nigerian playwright (–)

Ola Rotimi

BornOlawale Gladstone Emmanuel Rotimi
()13 April
Sapele, British Nigeria
Died18 August () (aged&#;62)
OccupationPlaywright, director.

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Olawale Gladstone Emmanuel Rotimi, best known as Ola Rotimi (13 April – 18 August ), [1] was one of Nigeria 's leading playwrights and theatre directors. He has been called "a complete man of the theatre [2] – an actor, director, choreographer and designer – who created performance spaces, influenced by traditional architectural forms.".

head of department of creative arts at the University of Port Harcourt, lecturer at Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria; has also served as visiting professor, playwright, and director in Germany and Italy, as well as at DePauw University and Wabash College.

EducationBoston University(BFA)
Yale University(MFA)
Period–
Notable worksThe Gods Are Not to Blame, Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, and The Epilogue

Olawale Gladstone Emmanuel Rotimi, best known as Ola Rotimi (13 April – 18 August ),[1] was one of Nigeria's leading playwrights and theatre directors.

He has been called "a complete man of the theatre[2] – an actor, director, choreographer and designer – who created performance spaces, influenced by traditional architectural forms."[3]

Biography

Early life

Rotimi was the son of Samuel Gladstone Enitan Rotimi a Yoruba steam-launch engineer (a successful director and producer of amateur theatricals)[4] and Dorcas Adolae Oruene Addo an Ijaw drama enthusiast.

He was born in Sapele, Nigeria;[5]cultural diversity was a recurring theme in his work. He attended St. Cyprian's School in Port Harcourt from to , St Jude's School, Lagos, from to and the Methodist Boys' High School, Lagos, before travelling to the United States in to study at Boston University, where he obtained a BA in fine arts.

In , he married Hazel Mae Gaudreau;[6] Hazel also studied at Boston University, where she majored in opera, voice and music education. In he obtained an MA from Yale School of Drama,[nb 1] where he earned the distinction of being a Rockefeller Foundation scholar in playwriting and dramatic literature.[nb 2]

Theatrical career

Rotimi often examined Nigeria's history and local traditions in his works.

His first plays, To Stir the God of Iron (produced ) and Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again (produced ; published ), were staged at the drama schools of Boston University and Yale, respectively.[7]

Later years

Upon returning to Nigeria in the s, Rotimi taught at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), where he founded the Ori Olokun Acting Company,[8] and Port Harcourt.

Owing, in part, to political conditions in Nigeria, Rotimi spent much of the s living in the Caribbean and the United States, where he taught at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. In he returned to Ile-Ife where he lectured in Obafemi Awolowo University till his demise. Hazel (his wife) died in May , only a couple of months before Rotimi's death.[9]

His later dramas include The Gods Are Not to Blame (produced ; published ), a retelling of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex[8] in imaginative verse; Kurunmi and the Prodigal (produced ; published as Kurunmi, ), written for the second Ife Festival of Arts; Ovonramwen Nogbaisi (produced ; published ), about the last ruler of the Benin empire; and Holding Talks ().

Later plays, such as If: A Tragedy of the Ruled () and Hopes of the Living Dead (), premiered at the University of Port Harcourt and was a common play in Obafemi Awolowo University Drama Department. The radio playEveryone His/Her Own Problem, was broadcast in His book African Dramatic Literature: To Be or to Become? was published in [7]

Rotimi, a patriot who shunned the attraction of the West and Europe and returned home to contribute his own quota to nation building, was a rare breed.

Diminutive in size but a giant in drama in Africa, he was one of the best things that could have happened to the literary community.

His dream of directing a play of cast members materialised at the Amphi Africa Theater when he was being put to rest as the crowd was drawn to a manuscript of the day's program outline. People made dramatic entry and exit to the stage around his casket with the man turning his casket.[10]

Rotimi spent the second half of his last creative decade reworking two of his plays – Man Talk, Woman Talk and also Tororo, Tororo, Roro – and the result, unpublished at the time of his death in , have now been published under the title The Epilogue.

were probably meant as an epilogue to both Rotimi's theatrical and comic careers, which span the entire spectrum of his career.[11]

It is comical and the language used is a version of "Nigerian English" (for example: "Se you get?" "I called God on him").

  • Ola rotimi the gods are not to blame
  • Our husband has gone mad again
  • Ola rotimi children
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    • The works are also a social satire and this publication will spur renewed interest in his satires. Rotimi is sure to be remembered as a model in the literary genre whose views have shaped the conduct of the theatre and whose plays have demonstrated the power of drama to shape the thinking of the society and attempted to solve some of the problems encountered in everyday living.[12]

    Plays

    • () To Stir the God of Iron
    • () Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again—depicts the cocoa farmer and businessman Lejoka-Brown as a self-seeking, opportunistic leader who could make better contributions to his country outside of the political arena.
    • () The Gods Are Not to Blame—an adaptation of the Greek classic Oedipus Rex; the main character gets trapped by pride, ignorance and the caprices of the divinities.
    • () Kurunmi
    • () Holding Talks
    • () Ovonramven Nogbaisi—the title character simply luxuriates in the grandeur of his office.

      Although he is a custodian of culture who inspires people, he does not actively participate in their struggles.

    • () Grip Am
    • () Invitation into Madness
    • () Akassa Youmi*
    • () If: A Tragedy of the Ruled—in If, the young firebrand Hamidu is nowhere to be found when a real commitment is required.
    • () Hopes of The Living Dead—Rotimi here depicts a different kind of leader: a selfless, result-oriented, committed leadership complemented by a followership that believes in the good of the generality of its members through the application of itself to the cause that is beneficial.
    • When the Criminals Become Judges

    The Epilogue: Two unpublished plays of Ola Rotimi

    Man Talk, Woman Talk is humorous, as quintessential comedies from the author can be.

    He makes use of wry humour to seek a level playing ground for resolution of the biases men and women nurse about one another and which affect mutual co-existence of the two. The scene is a court though devoid of the usual technicalities of court rooms.

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  • Ola rotimi autobiography pdf

    • Instead of legal jargon, there is humour, arguments and counter arguments. What the author arrives at is not to prove which gender is superior but to show the complementary roles of men and women. There is a great deal of wit in the work and the setting here is the university environment where the youthful contenders are idealistic.

    Tororo, Tororo, Roro is a coincidental meeting of two fellows from Man Talk, Woman Talk, Tunji Oginni and Philomena James.

    Both run Hotel Kilimanjaro with different motives and a chance meeting between them elicits lessons as both share each other's problems.

    Performances

    First performed in Nigeria in , The Gods Are Not to Blame was produced at the Arcola Theatre in Hackney, London, in Femi Elufowoju Jr had his first theatre experience in , at the age of 11, when he saw a revival of this very play, performed in a reconstructed Greek amphitheatre at a university campus in Ife; and brought it to the UK shores as a British leading theatre director under the company name Tiata Fahodzi[13]

    His last production was a staging of Man Talk, Woman Talk at the French Institute in Lagos, Nigeria.

    He also produced Tororo Tororo roro, a play of the Absurd, as a convocation play.

    Textual sources

    Style

    For Man Talk, Woman Talk, directorial approach must have fluidity which will allow for creativity of the actors.

    See full list on naijabiography.com Ola Rotimi (born April 13, , Sapele, Nigeria—died August 18, , Ile-Ife) was a Nigerian scholar, playwright, and director. Rotimi was born to an Ijaw mother and a Yoruba father, and cultural diversity was a frequent theme in his work.

    The technicalities of the stage should be carefully applied in such a way that they will kill expected boredom associated with court scenes for if not done, the whole dramatic in the act will be flattened out. It might do the play a favour if it is given the kind of approach Ola Rotimi himself used in the directing of the premiere of the play.

    It is the technique that allows a kind of participatory interaction; the one that accommodates the audience contribution.

    Awards

    Rotimi was awarded two Fulbright Scholarships[14]

    List of works

    Books that contain his significant contributions (see notes for more information) are marked with a percentage(%); Conference publications are marked with an asterisk (*); thesis or dissertations are marked with a dagger (†) below.

    Plays and literature
    Books, essays and political commentary

    Books

    Articles

    • "Conversation with Ola Rotimi"
    • "How the kingfisher learned fear"
    • "Review of: Kiabàrà: Journal of the Humanities 1" (June )
    • "Through whom the spirits breathe"
    • "The trials of African literature"
    • "Everyone his/her own problem"
    • "No direction home"
    Archival material and ebooks

    Archival material

    • Papers[nb 19]*
    • African Papers, , –
    • Gbe'ku De:pièce en 1 acte

    ebooks

    • Initiation into Madness
    • Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again
    • If
    • Holding Talks
    • Hopes of the Living Dead
    • Grip Am
    • Akassa you mi
    • Kurunmi
    • Ovonramwen Nogbaisi

    In Society of Young Nigerian Writers under the leadership of Wole Adedoyin founded Ola Rotimi Literary Society() aim at promoting and reading the works of Ola Rotimi.

    See also

    • Lace Occasional Publications, Vol.1, No.3 (23 June ), Theatre Department, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

    Notes

    1. ^He received professional training as a dramatist at Yale under John Gassner, one of America's distinguished dramatic critics, and Jack Landau, a professional New York director.

      Dictionary of Literary Biography: Olawale Gladstone Emmanuel Rotimi (p.

      See full list on naijabiography.com: Ola Rotimi (born April 13, , Sapele, Nigeria—died August 18, , Ile-Ife) was a Nigerian scholar, playwright, and director. Rotimi was born to an Ijaw mother and a Yoruba father, and cultural diversity was a frequent theme in his work.

      2)

    2. ^His graduate project-play was declared "Yale University's Student Play of the Year".Olarotimi Foundation
    3. ^Kurumi: An Historical Tragedy, Ibadan, Nigeria: Oxford University Press, ISBN&#;
    4. ^The Gods Are Not to Blame (Three Crowns) (paperback), London: Oxford University Press, ISBN&#;
    5. ^Ovọnramwẹn Nọgbaisi: An Historical Tragedy in English, Benin City, Nigeria: Ethiope Pub.

      Corp., ISBN&#;

    6. ^Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again (paperback), University Press PLC, Nigeria, , ISBN&#;
    7. ^Holding Talks: An absurdist drama, Ibadan, Nigeria: Oxford University Press, ISBN&#;X
    8. ^If: A Tragedy of the Ruled (paperback), Ibadan, Nigeria: Heinemann Educational Books, ISBN&#;
    9. ^Ola Rotimi & C.

      Maduka: A detailed interview with Ola Rotimi on his award-winning tragedy "The Gods Are Not to Blame", Kurunmi Adventures, Lagos, ISBN&#;

    10. ^Hopes of the Living Dead: a drama of struggle, Ibadan, Nigeria: Spectrum Books, ISBN&#;
    11. ^Series II lato dell'ombra. Chinua Achebe (Author); Itala Vivan; Ola Rotimi & Franca Cavagnoli (Author), Lavoro, Roma,
    12. ^Effiok Bassey Uwatt (editor), The Epilogue: Two Unpublished Plays of Ola Rotimi, (Man Talk, Woman Talk & Tororo, Tororo Ro-ro), Lagos: Apex Books, ISBN&#;
    13. ^Bruce King, Introduction to Nigerian Literature (hardcover), New York: Africana Pub.

      Corp., , ISBN&#; Rotimi's contribution was contextual material relating to traditional Nigerian drama.

    14. ^Saburi O. Biobaku, The Living Culture of Nigeria, Lagos: T. Nelson Publishers, ISBN&#;
    15. ^Thandie Lerato Pilane, Ola Rotimi, University of Botswana: Thesis (B.A.) University of Botswana, Gaborone,
    16. ^Statements towards August '83, Kurunmi Adventures, Lagos, ISBN&#;
    17. ^Nwanna Nzewunwa (chief editor): sponsored by the University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria, (Conference papers).

      Rotimi's contribution was an page paper sub-titled "Through whom the spirits breathe".

    18. ^Ola Rotimi & Dapọ Adelugba (editor): LACE occasional publications v. 1, no. 3, Dept. of Theatre Arts, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria,
    19. ^Organized by the Institute of African Studies, University of Ife "in collaboration with the Dept.

      of English (ed Conference papers). Rotimi's contribution was a page paper sub-titled "Trends in the Nigerian drama"

    References

    1. ^"Ola Rotimi", in Hans M. Zell, Carol Bundy, Virginia Coulon, A New Reader's Guide to African Literature, Heinemann Educational Books, , p.
    2. ^"20 years onremembering Ola Rotimi, a complete man of the theatre".

      The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 15 August Retrieved 10 March

    3. ^Martin Banham, Obituary: "Ola Rotimi – Playwright who put Nigeria's dramas on the stage", The Guardian, 17 October
    4. ^Dictionary of Literary Biography Complete OnlineArchived 24 July at the Wayback Machine: Emmanuel Gladstone Olawale Rotimi|E.G.O (ed ), Gale Research.
    5. ^"Olarotimi Foundation".

      Archived from the original on 10 May Retrieved 18 February

    6. ^"Obituary: Mark Payne". . 17 October
    7. ^ ab"Ola Rotimi | Nigerian scholar and dramatist". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 26 May
    8. ^ ab"Rotimi, Ola", in Martin Banham, Errol Hill & George Woodyard (eds), The Cambridge Guide to African & Caribbean Theatre, Cambridge University Press, , p.

    9. ^"BIOGRAPHY OF OLAWALE GLADSTONE EMMANUEL ROTIMI (OLA ROTIMI)". Fatherland Gazette. 18 October Retrieved 26 May
    10. ^"Ola Rotimi – DAWN Commission". Retrieved 26 May
    11. ^Kamboule, Demal Daniel.

      Ola rotimi autobiography Olawale Gladstone Emmanuel Rotimi, best known as Ola Rotimi (13 April – 18 August ), [1] was one of Nigeria 's leading playwrights and theatre directors. He has been called "a complete man of the theatre [2] – an actor, director, choreographer and designer – who created performance spaces, influenced by traditional architectural forms.".

      "Ola Rotimi".

    12. ^"A study of nigerian dramatist ola rotimi". . Retrieved 26 May
    13. ^Charlotte Cripps, "Authentic rhythms of Africa", The Independent, May
    14. ^Fashagba, Joseph Yinka; Ajayi, Ola-Rotimi Matthew; Nwankwor, Chiedo (11 April ). The Nigerian National Assembly.

      Springer. ISBN&#;.

    Relevant literature

    • Adegbite, Wale. "Pragmatic tactics in diplomatic communication: a case study of Ola Rotimi's Ovonramwen Nogbaisi." Journal of pragmatics 37, no. 9 ():
    • ANIGBOGU, Ngozi Chidinma, and Festus C. AHIZIH. "LANGUAGE USE IN OLA ROTIMI’S'THE GODS ARE NOT TO BLAME'." Socialscientia: Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities 5, no.

      1 ():

    • Apuke, Oberiri Destiny.

      See full list on naijabiography.com Olawale Gladstone Emmanuel Rotimi, popularly known through his works as Ola Rotimi, was one of Nigeria’s leading playwrights and theatre directors.

      "Thematic Analysis/Review of Ola Rotimi’s The Gods Are Not to Blame." Studies in Literature and Language 13, no. 5 ():

    • Jegede, Olusegun Oladele and Eniola Omotayo Osoba. The Pragmatics of Proverbs in Ola Rotimi’s Kurunmi. Bulletin of Advanced English Studies 3(2), Open access
    • Monye, Ambrose.

      "The Use of Proverbs in Ola Rotimi's' The Gods are not to Blame'." Proverbium 12 ():

    • Nutsukpo, Margaret Fafa. "Beyond Adaptation: The Representation of Women in Ola Rotimi's The Gods Are Not To Blame." International Journal 9, no. 2 ().
    • Odebunmi, Akin. "Pragmatic functions of crisis-motivated proverbs in Ola Rotimi's The Gods Are Not to Blame." ().

      Linguistik Online 33, 1/

    • Ola, V. U. "The Concept of Tragedy in Ola Rotimi's The Gods Are Not to Blame." Okike 22 ():
    • Owoeye, Omolara Kikelomo, and Samuel Ayodele Dada. "A demographic analysis of proverbs in Rotimis historical tragedies." US-China Foreign Language 10 ():
    • Simpson, Michael. "The Curse of the Canon: Ola Rotimi’s The Gods Are Not To Blame." Classics in Post-Colonial Worlds (): 86ff
    • Zakariyah, Moshood.

      A Pragmatic Analysis of Proverbs in Selected Works of Ola Rotimi. Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria: Doctoral dissertation.

    External links