Some may recall reading texts in school, such as Ola Rotimi’s ‘The Gods Are Not To Blame. On his posthumous 84th birthday, Emmanuel Gladstone Olawale Rotimi, better known as Ola Rotimi, is honored in Google’s customary style of honoring legendary men and women. Ola Rotimi, a Nigerian playwright, director, actor, choreographer, and designer, shot to fame.
Rotimi’s art reflected the diversity and richness of Nigeria’s culture, as well as local traditions.
Ola Rotimi was born in 1938 into a family of artists who guided him along his life’s path. His Ijaw mother operated a traditional dancing troupe, while his Yoruba father ran a community theater as well as directing and producing a play that first premiered with Rotimi when he was four years old.
Ola Rotimi’s passion for the arts, as well as his family’s mix of cultures and customs, rubbed off on him and strongly affected his work.
Later, he studied theatre at Boston University and received an M.F.A. in playwriting and dramatic literature from Yale University.
Rotimi wrote and directed a number of plays and short tales about Nigeria’s ethnic cultures and history during his career. He was noted for having a larger-than-life vision, and his productions included dance, music, and even mime.
Rotimi’s plays did much to bring traditional Nigerian rites, songs, and dances to an international audience. ‘The Gods Are Not to Blame,’ a 1968 drama based from the Greek classic Oedipus Rex, ‘Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again,’ and ‘Kurunmi’ are among his most well-known and award-winning works.
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