Gripping Drama In Pre-Colonial Nigeria

Celebrated Nigerian playwright and poet Inua Ellams MBE (The Barber Shop Chronicles) and acclaimed director Roy Alexander Weise MBE (The Hot Wing King) combine to bring the Alfred Fagon Award-winning play Once Upon A Time In Sokoto to the Lyric Theatre. The has production captured attention and critical acclaim on its national tour, with a talented ensemble performing this illuminating story of intra-African slavery in pre-colonial Nigeria, and a powerful reconciliation as a new oppressor begins to appear. Overseen by a creative pairing both with national honours for their services to arts, as well as being a fantastic contemporary play, this is a history lesson as searing as it is gripping.

What Is It About?

Marrying contemporary theatre with elements of traditional African storytelling such as call-and-response, Once Upon A Time In Sokoto takes us to the 19th century Sokoto Caliphate in what is now Nigeria, in the final days of region’s pre-colonial era. Former slave Nafira and her former master Zinari are divided by culture, class, faith and social standing, but an unexpected bond forms between the two as external forces and new oppressors from overseas begin to re-shape the world they knew. Absorbing as a piece of theatre and fascinating as an account of a historical period, don’t miss this excellent new work from one of this generation’s most respected playwrights.