Skip to main content

Lion and the Jewel, The

By Wole Soyinka

Year staged: 1966

Opening night: 12/12/1966

Theatre Company: The Ijinle Theatre Company

Staged in: Royal Court Theatre

Cast Size: 17

Synopsis

In Ilujinle, a Yoruba village in the Ibadan Kingdom, the ageing Bale has fathered 63 children through polygamy. He has now set his sights upon Sidi, a young virgin, to his head wife Saiku’s dismay. Lakunle, a young teacher, decries the Bale’s traditional practices as uncivilised, and wishes to modernise Sidi so that he may marry her himself. A tug of war between modernity and tradition ensues, as Lakunle and Baroka highlight the weaknesses in each other’s belief system, leaving Sidi to face the consequences of both.

Find the script

Lion and the Jewel, The

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Year published: 1963

Original Cast

Stella Oshalake

Cast

Trudi Coleman

Cast

Kwesi Kay

Cast

Veronica Wilson

Cast

Rosetta Nwanzoke

Cast

David Longdon

Cast

Hannah Bright-Taylor

Cast

Jumoke Debayo

Cast

Lionel Ngakane

Cast

Tommy Ansah

Cast

Femi Euba

Cast

Plinio Galfetti

Cast

Abdi Abobaker

Cast

Shauree Crooks

Cast

Taiwo Ajai

Cast

Blossom Pegram

Cast

Ilario Bisi-Pedro

Cast

Production Team

Sanya Dosunmie

Musical Direction

Marc Wilkinson

Musical Direction

Desmond O'Donovan

Director

Jocelyn Herbert

Designer / Costumes

Andrew / Andy Phillips

Lighting

Additional Materials

Link to Royal Court Production File

Royal Court Production File

Ref: THM/273/4/1/35

V&A Theatre and Performance Collection

Link to Further Production Source

Further Production Source

Living Archive (Royal Court)

Contact Us

Help improve this page

Do you have information about this or other productions that could help improve our records?