Currently playing at the Arcola Theatre as part of the Africa ‘05 celebrations this is the second time the UK has seen this remarkable performance. Previously staged at Riverside Studios in 1978 to exceptional reviews, it is now restaged by Tiata Fahodzi ( Theatre of the Emancipated ), Britains’ leading African theatre company, under the watchful eye of its’ director Femi Elufowoju, jr.

The story is an old one, the thought of a mother marrying her son and bearing him children is difficult to swallow, as is humorously portrayed by Alaka (Nick Oshiklanlu) in his cries of “pray woman let me eat in peace.” The horror of discovering that the wife you loved is in fact your mother is a burden too horrific to bear, King Odewales frenzied paranoia is an anguish to watch. The suffocating pain of the Queens sobs as she realises the husband she married is in fact her son and her silent, resolute exit from the room heightens the sheer force of the drama enfolding. Even through this most shocking of stories there is humour, in the tradition of Shakespearian tragedies, pathos is found. We laugh at the King and his Yoruba proverbs handed out in copious amounts, for instance “is it not ignorance that makes the rat attack the cat?” Led by Mo Sesay playing King Odewale the cast gave tantalising performances. The intimacy of the Arcola theatre, the still, stifling heat did not detract from the dynamic, energetic performance. The lilting, soul stirring chanting and melodies composed by Akintayo Akinbode evoked the senses and helped transport the audience to another time in a Nigerian place.

All great stories are timeless, as is this one. Rotimi was a master storyteller, cleverly placing the Oedipus Rex tragedy in Nigeria where it easily lends itself to the nuances and intricacies of the plot. Having written the play in the 1960s, Rotimis’ essential message is emphasised in King Odewales’ emphatic reply, “no, don’t blame the Gods,” to his brother, Aderopo (Kwaku Ankomah). It was an allegory to the devastating Nigerian civil war that Rotimi, writing in the 1960s was referring to, but the message is just as potent today: we are masters of our own destinies.

The Gods are not to blame: 8th June - 2nd July 2005 Arcola Theatre, 27 Arcola St, E8