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Babatunde Onikoyi, Researcher and Assistant Lecturer, University of Regina

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

Odunlade Adekola stars in Elesin Oba, The King's Horseman. EbonyLife Media/Toronto International Film Festival/Netflix

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.


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