Name Duro Ladipo Role Dramatist | Plays Oba ko so | |
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Remembering the thunderking of theatre, Duro Ladipo
Duro Ladipọ (1931–1978) was one of the best known and critically acclaimed Yoruba dramatists who emerged from postcolonial Africa. Writing solely in the Yoruba language, he captivated the symbolic spirit of Yoruba mythologies in his plays, which were later adapted to other media such as photography, television and cinema. His most famous play, Ọba kò so (The King did not Hang), a dramatization of the traditional Yoruba story on how Ṣango became the God of Thunder, received international acclaim at the first Commonwealth Arts Festival in 1965 and on a European tour, where a Berlin critic, Ulli Beier, compared Ladipọ to Karajan. Ladipo usually acted in his own plays.
Contents
- Remembering the thunderking of theatre Duro Ladipo
- With pa ogunde duro ladipo it is wrong to say nollywood is 20 actress dayo amusa
- Early life
- Career
- References
With pa ogunde duro ladipo it is wrong to say nollywood is 20 actress dayo amusa
Early life
Duro Ladipo was raised in a Christian family. His father was a minister at an Anglican church in Oṣogbo. However, Ladipo may have been influenced by his grandfather, who migrated to Oṣogbo after the Jalumi war. His grandfather was well versed in Yoruba mythology, especially those emanating from Old Ọyọ, and was known to have worshipped Ṣango and Ọya.
Career
Ladipọ tried hard and succeeded in exposing himself to traditional and Yoruba cultural elements, especially when living under the veil of a Christian home. At a young age, he would sneak out of the vicarage to watch Yoruba festivals. This fascination with his culture goaded him into researching and experimenting with theatrical drama and writing. After leaving Oṣogbo, he went to Ibadan, where he became a teacher. While in Ibadan he became one of the founding members of an artist society or club called Mbari Mbayo and became influenced by Beier. He later replicated the club in Oṣogbo, and it became the premier group for promoting budding artists and dramatists in Oṣogbo. Throughout his career, Duro Ladipọ wrote ten Yoruba folk operas combining dance, music, mime, proverbs, drumming and praise songs.
Ladipo started his theatre group in 1961, but he became fully established with the founding of the Mbari Mbayo Club in Oṣogbo. His popularity as a folk opera group rests on his three plays: Ọbamoro in 1962, Ọba ko so and Ọba Waja in 1964. (Ọba Waja - "The King is Dead" - is based on the same historical event that inspired fellow Nigerian playwright Wọle Ṣoyinka's Death and the King's Horseman.) He also promoted Mọremi." He later transformed Mbari Mbayo into a cultural center, an arts gallery and a meeting point for young artists seeking to develop their talents. Duro Oladipọ wrote quite a number of plays, such as Suru Baba Iwa" and "Tanimowo Iku." Some of his plays were also produced for television. In fact, he created Bode Wasinimi for Nigerian Television Authority, Ibadan.
In 1977, Duro Ladipo participated in Festac '77, the second world Festival of Black and African Arts and Culture, in Lagos, Nigeria.
DEATH
Duro Ladipo's death is a mystery that has left many Nigerians in awe. Ladipo is believed to have turned himself into a powerful god like SANGO (God of Thunder) via his research about SANGO. This research was based on how SANGO spit out fire. Ladipo became a god by virtue of this (or one can say he was immured or initiated by SANGO to the extent that he had the ability to spit out fire and rain thunder). Ladipo is believed to have contacted an infection in his leg, which led to an amputation at University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan. Prior to his death, it is believed that thunder covered the whole area of UCH till the following day of his death. Ladipo established himself as a small god. In 2019, Nigeria will celebrate 40 years of his demise.