Ibadan (Nigeria) (AFP) – The actors, seasoned veterans as well as young amateurs, go through their lines and movements one last time before the curtain rises at the Wole Soyinka Theatre at the University of Ibadan, in southwest Nigeria.
Issued on: 26/06/2026 - 09:02
3 min Reading time
Adebayo Israel was always passionate about theatre "but this is where I gained my confidence on stage", the 21-year-old student told AFP, warming up his voice ahead of that night's production of "Medaaye".Israel is the latest in a long line of actors to make their way through the theatre, which has become something of a proving ground for talent in the west African country.Named after former University of Ibadan student Wole Soyinka, the first African to be awarded the Nobel prize in literature, the theatre continues to pump out talent seven decades after its 1955 founding, drawing audiences from across the country and the continent."This particular department, this university, has produced actors and academics to develop the departments of theatre in every university in Nigeria," instructor Tunde Awosanmi told AFP.Awosanmi also served as the stage director for "Medaaye", an African adaptation of the Greek tragedy "Medea" by Euripides.For two and a half hours on a recent evening, the dialogue alternated between English, Yoruba and Pidgin, punctuated by songs and traditional dancing and accompanied by musicians seated among the public in the front row.In the audience was the "Medaaye" playwright Femi Osofisan, the first African to receive the prestigious Thalia Prize, in 2016.'Pool of talent'Osofisan, who was there for a week of events celebrating his 80th birthday, knows the venue well -- he studied and taught at Ibadan's theatre department.
