The king has died, and by tradition his horseman must die too, to accompany him into the world of the ancestors. On the night of the ritual, the horseman hesitates, distracted by a young bride and the pleasures of life, and a British colonial officer decides to intervene. Wole Soyinka’s play Death and the King’s Horseman has been staged around the world since 1975. In 2022, Biyi Bandele brought it to the screen as Elesin Oba: The King’s Horseman. He did not live to see its premiere.
The play, story and director
Soyinka wrote Death and the King’s Horseman in 1975, inspired by real events in Oyo in 1946, when a colonial officer stopped a horseman from performing ritual suicide. Elesin Oba, the king’s horseman, must die to follow his king. Colonial authorities arrest him before the ritual is complete, with tragic consequences for his family and community. Bandele, a Nigerian novelist, playwright and director, had earlier directed the film Half of a Yellow Sun.
The film is mostly in Yoruba, honouring the language and poetry of Soyinka’s play.
Adekola, Toronto and Bandele's death
Odunlade Adekola, a popular Yoruba film star, plays Elesin Oba. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2022. Bandele died in August 2022, weeks before the premiere. The film became his final work. Elesin Oba was released on Netflix, part of the platform’s investment in Nigerian content. The story explores duty, honour, colonial power and the meaning of tradition.
Soyinka has argued that the play should not be read simply as a clash of cultures, but as a metaphysical drama about duty and transition. Critics praised its visuals, music and performances, and its fidelity to the play’s language.
Legacy, music and Oyo
The film introduced Soyinka’s work to new audiences around the world. The film’s soundtrack features Yoruba songs, drums and chants that echo the poetry of Soyinka’s play. Much of the dialogue keeps the play’s rich, proverbial language, which critics praised as a rare celebration of Yoruba on screen. The real events that inspired the play took place in Oyo.
Elesin Oba is a story about a man who could not complete his final duty. Biyi Bandele completed his, leaving behind a film that carried Soyinka’s words to a global screen.
