The Oriki of a Grasshopper and Other Plays

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.