In February 2025, we collaborated with Utopia Theatre to produce a rarely-staged production of Wole Soyinka's Death and the King's Horseman.

We were lucky enough to have the playwright himself visit Sheffield, travelling internationally to see the new version of his work live on stage in South Yorkshire.

Wole Soyinka spent time at Utopia Theatre's Creative Hub in Sheffield city centre where the company of the production greeted him with a warm reception, before he watched the show at the Crucible theatre.

Soyinka holds the distinction of being the first African winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. His diverse career spans academia, drama, poetry, literature, playwriting and activism. Soyinka’s work reflects the syncretism of Yoruba culture, steeped in observations and analysis of Africa’s past and post-colonial woes of despotism.

Death and the King’s Horseman was first staged in 1976, telling the story of Elesin, the king's horseman, who must honour the Yoruba tradition of ritual suicide to accompany the deceased king on his final journey. The production, directed by Mojisola Kareem, showcased music and dance deeply rooted in the culture and spirituality of the Yoruba people and ran at the Crucible from Monday 3 - Saturday 8 February 2025.