Utopia theatre in Sheffield, with its intimate 50-seat space, is currently hosting a rare production of Wole Soyinka's 1958 play The Swamp Dwellers, unseen in the UK for more than 50 years. Director Mojisola Kareem's excellent production makes no concessions to the tiny venue, bringing grand historical scope to a story of Nigeria in transition.
A Play of Elemental Forces
Soyinka's play, in a single act, summons elemental forces: twin brothers who have abandoned the family home for the big city, a blind stranger who arrives unannounced, and a venal holy man exploiting his status for personal gain. The drama is both simple and strange, set in a 21st-century atmosphere of environmental doom. Drought and infestation plague the north, economic hardship defines the dog-eat-dog city, and the encroaching swamp is ruining crops in the wetlands. This is a land in transition, where old bonds of spiritual belief and family ties are more curse than help, and the scale of change is beyond the human.
Bold Performances in an Intimate Space
Kareem draws out performances that are bold and sharply defined. The heart of the play lies with the left-behind parents, Alu and Makuri. Urielle Klein-Mekongo expertly captures Alu's worry over their absent son, while Jude Akuwudike barks back as the self-assured husband. Neither character is as fragile or as confident as they would like to appear. Their domestic world, centred on Makuri's barber's chair, becomes a crucible for grander forces with the arrival of visitors: Obi Maduegbuna as the otherworldly blind beggar, Theo Ogundipe as the gaudy and domineering priest, and Joshua Roberts-Mensah as the disillusioned son driven by chillingly rational fury. The play, full of portent, becomes unsettling and intense.
Environmental and Social Themes
The production highlights the environmental doom of the Niger Delta, where the encroaching swamp wipes out livelihoods. The play reflects economic hardship and the breakdown of traditional structures, making it highly relevant to contemporary audiences. The set, a wooden platform designed by Sarah Lewis-Cole, floats above the ground as if to evade flood waters, reinforcing the theme of environmental threat.
The Swamp Dwellers runs at Utopia theatre, Sheffield, until 11 July.
