On a hot day in humid Lagos, I strolled into Digitrack Studios at Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos for a chat with actor Wale Ojo. It is not unlikely you meet the renowned thespian at Digitrack Studios which is the main production hub for Ojo’s company, named New Nigeria Cinema Productions Ltd, when he is not on set or in Fulham, West London.

He has just been cast to play ‘Elesin Oba’ in Wole Soyinka’s classic play – which won him the Nobel Prize for Literature – Death and The King’s Horseman. He’s fascinated by the offering. Set in the ancient Oyo Kingdom, the play is based imaginatively on actual real life events which took place in the town of Oyo in 1946.

The King, Alaafin of Oyo suffers demise and by ancient custom and tradition, ‘Elesin Oba’, the King’s horseman, must follow him to the world of the ancestors simply by willing himself to death aided by ritual tradition. It is a classic piece of African literature that is held highly by academics and theatre practitioners worldwide.

https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2025/02/01/wale-ojo-to-play-elesin-oba-2/