THE DIALECTIC OF `THEM AND US': POWER PLAY IN SAM UKALA'S THE PLACENTA OF DEATH

Abstract

Sam Ukala, a versatile playwright and dramatist, has done much to develop the aesthetic principle of folkism into an enduring dramatic form. In this study, we examine how he encourages the oppressed and exploited peoples of the earth to strive to unsettle their oppressors as a first step towards achieving for themselves freedom and respect. Specifically, in his play The Placenta of Death, Ukala transmutes a folktale on the theme of misrule, high-handedness, rivalry and other such related human weaknesses into a powerful parable for characterizing the ill health of the Nigerian polity.


(Humanities Review: 2001 1(1): 15-19)