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Once Upon A Time In Sokoto review – exuberant history lesson on intra-African slavery

The Guardian Culture Sunday 04 October 2026, 15:00 UTC By Mark Lawson 1 min read
Key Points

Royal and Derngate, NorthamptonInua Ellams displays a Stoppardian or Fraynian relish in turning complex topics into enjoyable theatre in his latest playOver the last decade, Inua Ellams has written inventive and educational plays centred on modern Nigeria, starting with Barber Shop Chronicles in which hair care allowed cutting commentary on masculinity and politics. Although The Half God of Rainfall had a detour to Mount Olympus, typical of Ellams’s structural fun, the focus was postcolonial...

Royal and Derngate, Northampton
Inua Ellams displays a Stoppardian or Fraynian relish in turning complex topics into enjoyable theatre in his latest play

Over the last decade, Inua Ellams has written inventive and educational plays centred on modern Nigeria, starting with Barber Shop Chronicles in which hair care allowed cutting commentary on masculinity and politics.

Although The Half God of Rainfall had a detour to Mount Olympus, typical of Ellams’s structural fun, the focus was postcolonial Nigeria, his superb relocation of Chekhov’s Three Sisters to 1960s Africa showing ructions resulting from British imperial ruler Lord Lugard coercing the playwright’s birth nation from multiple cultures.

At the Royal and Derngate, Northampton, until 10 October, then touring.

Continue reading...
Sokoto (PERSON) intra-African (ORG) Derngate (ORG) NorthamptonInua Ellams (ORG) Stoppardian (ORG) Fraynian (ORG) Inua Ellams (ORG) Nigeria (LOCATION) Barber Shop Chronicles (ORG) Mount Olympus (LOCATION) Ellams (ORG) Chekhov (PERSON) Africa (LOCATION) British (ORG) Lugard (PERSON)
Originally published by The Guardian Culture Read original →

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