The King’s Horseman, Nigeria’s most famous play, is now a Netflix movie: what makes it a classic

The King’s Horseman, Nigeria’s most famous play, is now a Netflix movie: what makes it a classic

Elesin Oba, the King’s Horseman is a new movie coming to Netflix. It is based on Nigeria’s most famous play, Death and the King’s Horseman, written in 1975 by Nobel Prize-winning author, activist and academic Wole Soyinka. Directed by the late Biyi Bandele, the film – in the Yoruba language – is generating global attention with a world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Tunde Onikoyi, a lecturer in African literature and film, acted in the original play. We asked him what it’s about and why it still matters.

What is Death and the King’s Horseman?

Death and the King’s Horseman is a famous play based on a historical event in Nigeria in the time of British colonial rule of the country. It tells the story of Elesin, the king’s horseman. He was prevented from committing ritual suicide by the British colonial powers. The play was written by Wole Soyinka in 1975. After studying theatre in the UK, Soyinka returned home to newly independent Nigeria in 1960. He threw himself into researching Yoruba culture, song and dance. The play was ultimately the fruit of this research.

What’s the story about?

Death and the King’s Horseman is set in the Oyo Kingdom in south-west Nigeria in the early 1940s. Oyo tradition demands that Elesin Oba, the king’s horseman, must commit suicide before the king is buried in order for his spirit to lead the king’s to the great beyond. But Elesin Oba failed in his duty. The story ends on a tragic note – his son, Olunde, has to return from studying medicine abroad to commit suicide in place of his father.