Wole Soyinka's works are not only marked by the cultural and psychological consequences of colonization, but also by the atmosphere of disillusionment and the situation of instability which characterized the post-independence period in Nigeria. Considering such a historical background, the medium of theatre was particularly suited to embarking on a double undertaking: allowing the regeneration of the Nigerian nation and triggering the awakening of the collective national consciousnesswhich was a necessary step to call into question contemporary socio-political circumstances (Akporji 2003). Chii Akporji, in her book, Figures in a Dance: The Theatre of W.B. Yeats and Wole Soyinka, notes that Soyinka is fully aware of the impact that a ritualized dramaturgy can have on the collective consciousness of colonial and postcolonial communities. Hence his association between a "ritual" kind of total theatre, exploring the creative and subversive potential of the dancing body, and the dynamics of spiritual regeneration and revolution. 1 Indeed, Biodun Jeyifo reminds us that in Soyinka's essays on drama (in Myth, Literature and the African World and in some of his essays in Art, Dialogue and Outrage), ritual is seen as a "revitalizing and revolutionizing source for contemporary drama and theatre" (2004, 125).
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.