Curtain Rises on ‘Death and the King’s Horseman’ Feb. 17

When the Swedish Academy awarded Wole Soyinka the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986, it cited “Death and the King’s Horseman” as an example of his gift for combining African and European culture into unique drama.

UNCG Theatre will perform the play Feb. 17-26 in Taylor Theatre. Show times are 8 p.m. Feb. 17, 18, 24 and 25; 2 p.m. Feb. 19 and 26; and 7 p.m. Feb. 21-23. Ticket prices are $12 for adults; $10 for seniors, students and children (12 and under); and $8 for UNCG alumni and groups of 10 or more.

Based on events that took place in British-occupied Nigeria in 1946, the play follows the intertwined lives of Elesin Oba, the king’s chief horseman; his son Olunde, a medical student in England; and Simon Pilkings, the colonial district officer.

After the king dies, Elesin is expected by law and custom to commit suicide and accompany his ruler to heaven. The stage is set for a dramatic climax when Pilkings learns of the ritual and decides to intervene, and Elesin's son arrives home.

In a work full of powerful music, dance and language, Soyinka examines the way the two cultures grapple with the spiritual questions surrounding death and personal sacrifice.

Director Alan Cook came to the university in 1991 and is head of the stage directing program. This will be Cook’s last directorial production at UNCG. He will not be directing next year and will retire in spring 2007.

Randy McMullen is the scenic designer; John Wolf is the lighting designer; Deborah Bell is the costume designer. All are UNCG faculty members. The production features a live African drum corps and African dancing choreographed by Robin Gee of the Department of Dance.

According to the Chicago Tribune, “‘Death and the King’s Horseman’ blends European literary theater with total-theater traditions from the Yoruba tribe in Southwest Nigeria. Through poetry, chorus, politics, and storytelling, Soyinka both entertains and asks subtle questions about mass psychology, individual psychology, and universal human struggles of will.”

Soyinka is the author of more than 30 works, including “The Burden of Memory,” “The Muse of Forgiveness” and the play “King Baabu.” He is active in various international artistic and human rights organizations, such as the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and the International Parliament of Writers. He recently ended his exile from his native Nigeria.

“Soyinka’s acclaimed and powerful play addresses classic issues of cultural conflict, tragic decision making, and the psychological mindsets of individuals as well as groups,” said Cook, who lived, taught and directed in Nigeria for four years.

There will be a feedback night as part of the Ashby Dialogues after the Feb. 23 performance. All are welcome to discuss the play with the actors and Cook.

The main cast members are guest artist Logie Meachum and students Ben Holbrook, Omoze Idehenre, Chadwick Hubbard and Alison Pentland.

For more information or to order tickets, call the University Box Office at 336-334-4849 noon to 5 p.m. on weekdays or visit the Department of Theatre web page at http://www.uncg.edu/the/.

Tickets are available for walk-up purchase at the University Box Office in Elliott University Center and one hour before curtain time at the performance venue. Tickets can be purchased online for a service charge via a link from http://boxoffice.uncg.edu/.

Free parking for evening and weekend performances is available behind the Weatherspoon Art Museum.

Alan Cook
Cook has taught at the University of California – Santa Cruz, the University of Montana and Pacific University. He taught at the University of Jos, in Nigeria, on a Fulbright Lectureship.

He has worked professionally as a director/actor at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, Long Wharf (New Haven, Conn.), Western Stage (Salinas, Cal.), Montana Rep, Madison Rep (Wis.), and the Magic Theatre (San Francisco).

His adaptation of John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden” was produced at the Western Stage and at Actors Theatre of Louisville as the centerpiece of the 1996 Classics in Context Festival.

Robin Gee
Gee, assistant professor of dance, holds an MFA in Dance Choreography and Performance from Sarah Lawrence College and a bachelor’s in ethnocultural studies from SUNY Empire State College. She is a specialist in African dance techniques, Carribean dance forms, and modern dance techniques. Gee teaches African dance and modern dance classes at UNCG, and lectures in the dance appreciation and dance history curricula.

Logie Meachum
A native of Greensboro, Meachum received his bachelor’s in technical theater from N.C. A&T State University. He also earned a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Virginia Polytechnic and State University in Blacksburg.

He has worked as a lighting technician at Harrah’s Casino Broadway by the Bay Theatre in Atlantic City, N.J.; served as Director of the Drama Guild at Winston Salem State University; and lectures in UNCG’s School of Education.

He performed in “Stepping into Tomorrow” for the National Black Theatre Festival in 1999. Also in 1999, he received an honorable mention from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival for his musical composition for the award-winning play “David Richmond.”

He played the part of Whining Boy in “The Piano Lesson” at the Broach Theatre in 2000. At the Averitt Center for the Arts in Statesboro, Ga., he played Blind Willie McTell in “A Place Called Home” in 2004 and the narrator in “Black Nativity” in 2005.

His work includes the independent film “Trick Dribble” featuring Yolanda King. In 2004, he portrayed a blues guitar player in the Aaron Schneider-directed “Two Soldiers,” which won the Oscar for Best Short Film.