AN EVENING WITH WOLE SOYINKA HOSTED BY DOTUN ADEBAYO MBE
AN EVENING WITH WOLE SOYINKA HOSTED BY DOTUN ADEBAYO MBE
Tues 31 Jul 2012
About
Nigeria House cordially invites you to an evening with Professor Wole Soyinka, one of Nigeria’s most influential activists and artists of our time.
As collaborator with and good friend of Joan Littlewood, Prof. Soyinka has a long standing history with Theatre Royal Stratford East.
Prof. Wole Soyinka, Nigerian writer and winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize for Literature, has over 20 published works of drama, novels and poetry.
Hear about the extraordinary life of this incredible man: writer, political prisoner, human rights activist and academic.
Prof. Soyinka will be interviewed by well known journalist and BBC radio presenter Dotun Adebayo MBE who will also lead him in a question & answer session with the audience.
Come along to ask this critically acclaimed Nobel Laureate the questions you’ve always wanted.
The Q&A will be followed by a performance of Prof. Soyinka's play, The Lion and the Jewel.
Wole Soyinka
Akinwande Oluwole "Wole" Soyinka was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first African to receive the honour.
After study in Nigeria and the UK, he worked with the Royal Court in London, writing plays that were produced in both countries, and taking an active role in Nigeria's political life and its struggle for independence from Great Britain.
In 1967 during the Nigerian Civil War, he was arrested by the federal government of General Yakubu Gowon and put in solitary confinement for two years. Soyinka has strongly criticized many Nigerian military dictators as well as other regimes, including that of Robert Mugabe.
In the autumn of 2007 Wole Soyinka was appointed Professor in Residence at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, US.
Doton Adebayo
Dotun Adebayo MBE, grew up in Tottenham, where he fell in love with radio so much that he took the bus 171 to Bush House at the age of 12 and convinced the producers of Network Africa to use him as a contributor.
He won a scholarship to read Scandinavian literature at Stockholm's University at 18 and within a year had a weekly feature on Eldorado Max, Swedish Radio's P3 channel.
Meanwhile he pursued a career as a music journalist writing for the music and national papers in Britain (Time Out, NME, The Guardian, News of the World, The Voice, Evening Standard and The Sun).
In 1992 he founded the book publisher The X Press and had an instant bestseller with his first title Yardie. The BBC later turned one of his most popular books, Baby Father, into a twelve part television series. He has written several books including the bestsellers Can I Have My Balls Back Please and Sperm Bandits.
Dotun has presented continuously on BBC London since 1993, and has had his own programme on BBC Radio 5 Live for nine years. He currently presents Up All Night for the network four times a week.
He was awarded an MBE for 'services to the arts' in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in 2009. On January 20, 2010, he launched the 24-hour black-interest news channel Colourtelly (www.colourtelly.tv).
Dotun lives in north London with his wife, pop singer Carroll Thompson, and their two daughters Temisan and Omolewa.
Tickets
£5 (Talk only)
£10 (Talk & Play)
Time
6pm
Location
Auditorium
Additional Information
Running time: 1 1/2 hours
Nigeria House is adjacent to the Olympic Park. Please ensure that you travel to the venue by public transport. More information at www.getaheadofthegames.com
Please note the details of these events are subject to change. Keep checking the website for updates.
Prof. Wole Soyinka
Dotun Adebayo MBE
An Evening with Wole Soyinka
