Utopia theatre, Sheffield
Mojisola Kareem’s excellent production makes no concessions to this 50-seat space, bringing grand historical scope to a story of Nigeria in transition
Utopia is the smallest of theatres, its 50-seat space made all the more intimate by the raffia ceiling and drape-lined walls. Yet this town-centre unit holds the biggest of characters on its stage, a wooden platform designed by Sarah Lewis-Cole that floats above the ground as if to evade the flood waters of the Niger Delta.
They are big, in part, because of Wole Soyinka, whose 1958 play, unseen in this country for more than 50 years, has an archetypal ferocity. In a single act, he summons elemental forces: the twin brothers who have abandoned the family home for the big city; the blind stranger who arrives unannounced and is slow to declare his intent; the venal holy man, exploiting his status for personal gain.
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