Review: Death and The King’s Horseman at Crucible Theatre

“…a powerful production…”

Death and The King’s Horseman by Wole Soyinka, Crucible Theatre Sheffield

by Phil Scown

The play is set in the Oyo state of Nigeria, at some point in World War II.  The whole country is part of the British Empire at that point.  It is a colony, and both colonised and colonisers feature in the play. Culture is at the heart of the play and here I feel I must state that my cultural heritage is white British. The story depicts real events, though these have been slightly time-shifted by the author to help the storytelling.

At the death of the Aruba King, the Alaafin of Oyo, there are certain rituals that must be observed if the state is to thrive.  The King’s hound and his horse must follow him to the other side, as must the King’s Horseman.  The Horseman is expected to die, by his own will, a month after the King’s death.  This ritual is the context for the story, though it is not what the play is about.

Act one sets up the ritual death.  It allows us to see the bigger cultural picture, of which the death of the Horseman is an important detail, but not the whole.  Act two exposes the reality of colonial control.  The English, Europeans, control life at all levels, yet have no understanding of any of the Yoruba culture, values, and rituals that underpin this.  This European ignorance results in a number of mistakes and cultural clashes, and forms one of the key threads of the play.  Differing attitudes to death and its meaning are explored.  The European claims to venerate life are exposed as hypocrisy by the actions of sending young men off to die in their thousands in the war.

The societal roles of women are also examined.  There are elements of misogyny in both Yoruba and European culture, where women can be treated as chattels.  However, another role is also examined, where women have collective and individual soft power, power to sway decisions.  Women have their powers and their obligations, like The King’s Horseman, and Simon Pilkings, the Colonial Administrator.

The white colonialists are largely represented by the Pilkings: Simon, the senior officer in charge, and his wife Jane.  They are exemplars of cultural insensitivity.  This is not because they are bad people – they are capable of significant acts of philanthropy – however, they have no understanding of local culture, believing it to be inherently inferior to that of the Europeans.  The war is used to show this as wrong.  The Pilkings will never ‘get it’; it is who they are.

The first stand-out role is the eponymous King’s Horseman, Elesin Oba (played by Wale Ojo).  The role demands humour, drama, anger, which Ojo carries off perfectly.  Iyaloja (Kehinde Bankole) is the leading wife/mother to the Yoruba community.  She exudes power, providing balance to male mismanagement.  Simon Pilkings (David Partridge) could have been played as a caricature, however, there is humanity.  He is hidebound by his colonial role and by his belief in the superiority of The Empire but his mistakes are the result of misunderstanding, not malice.  Olunde (Michael Ahomka-Lindsay) is a cultural bridge.  Pilkings has sent him to England to train as a doctor.  This has not given Olunde a European outlook, to the contrary, he has seen the effects of war on young men.  Despite his university education he still knows the significance of Yoruba ritual.  Ahomka-Lindsay plays the role with clarity, exposing the shortcomings of English cultural norms.  The ensemble adds considerably to the atmosphere of the play through song and dance, and their execution of supporting roles. 

There is frequent music and song, though this does not make it a musical.  The music is there because it should be, not because of surreal demands that the cast should burst into song.  The Yoruba music is more natural, life affirming, than the music that plays at the Ball of the European Club. The concluding songs were much appreciated by this audience, some even singing along to the closing numbers.

Though dealing with death, and its meaning, there are moments of humour.  When a crowd of women deal with the local police there are many laughs.  Some are at the expense of European culture, and some at the local police themselves.  Humour is scattered throughout the scenes.

On the technicalities of the play, the sound was generally good, though there were a couple of glitches on a microphone.  Though this momentarily interrupted the suspension of disbelief, there was no material effect on the understanding of dialogue.  Lighting was used to good effect, particularly in defining space on stage.  One surprise omission from the credits is the Costume Department.  The Yoruba costumes were bright, and exuded quality throughout. 

Recommended for a good night.  This is a long play that doesn’t feel it – that’s always a good sign.  It is a powerful production. 

Phil Scown has been a regular theatre-goer since his student days many years ago. Mysteries, thrillers, ghost stories, comedies and musicals are all part of his theatre diet. Phil writes short stories in a variety of genres, some of which have become screenplays. He likes to tour England, Scotland and France, nowadays by car rather than motorcycle. At other times Phil likes to cook and to drive his Caterham, though generally not at the same time.