Review of The Swamp Dwellers – Wole Soyinka’s rare play is a complete revelation | Theater

Utopia is a small theater, its 50-seat space is made intimate with a raffia ceiling and striped walls. However, the town center has its most famous people on its stage, a wooden platform designed by Sarah Lewis-Cole that floats on the ground as if to escape the floods of the Niger Delta.

They are great, in part, because of Wole Soyinkawhose 1958 play, which has not been seen in this country for more than 50 years, has a serious impact. In one act, he summons powerful forces: twin brothers who have left the family home for the big city; the blind stranger who arrives unannounced and is slow to announce his purpose; a holy man, he takes advantage of his position.

It’s simple and unusual, and it’s rooted in the 21st century of environmental degradation. In the north there is drought and unrest, economic problems in the city of dogs and crop failure here in the swamps where the destroyed swamp is destroying life. This is a world of change, where the old bonds of spiritual faith and family ties are more of a curse than a help. The scope of change is beyond man.

Making these numbers seem bigger, is the director Mojisola Kareem whose good production will not change the small space. They create behaviors that are bold and clear.

At his heart are the remaining ancestors, Alu and Makuri. Urielle Klein-Mekongo laments about their missing son, while Jude Akuwudike struts like a confident man. He is no longer as weak or self-confident as he would like to portray.

Their country is domestic, even though it is in the barber’s chair where Makuri does his trade. But with the arrival of their unexpected visitor – Obi Maduegbuna, otherworldly as a blind beggar; Theo Ogundipe, shy and oppressive as a priest; and Joshua Roberts-Mensah, driven by obvious fury as a frustrated child – their small house becomes a breeding ground for great energy. It makes a drama full of miracles seem unstable and powerful.