Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
Inua Ellams was born in Nigeria and is an internationally touring poet, playwright, performer, graphic artist and designer. He is an ambassador for the Ministry of Stories and has published four books of poetry. His plays and stage adaptations include The 14th Tale (Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Fringe First winner), Barber Shop Chronicles (National Theatre) and Three Sisters (National Theatre). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Oladipo 'Dipo' Agboluaje is a British-Nigerian playwright and academic, born in London and educated in Britain and Nigeria. He studied Theatre Arts at the University of Benin, Nigeria, and later wrote a doctoral thesis at the Open University, UK, on West and South African drama. He won the Alfred Fagon prize for playwriting for his play Iya-lle and is a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund, working in partnership with the University of East London, UK. He has written the commentary and notes to the Methuen Drama Student Edition of Inua Ellams's Barber Shop Chronicles (Bloomsbury, 2021).
A startlingly vivid account of the civil war and a direct assault on British neocolonialism ... Ellams brilliantly uses the context to sharpen specific relationships ... Above all, the play offers a searing attack on British responsibility for the war dating to the time when they created Nigeria out of 250 ethnic groups and languages.
Guardian
The new setting gives the play a freshness and punch that makes its humane complications and disappointments live and breathe in new air ... It's brave enough to be funny too; the comedy makes the tragedy weigh all the more heavily when it arrives ... Each character is delicately and carefully fitted into this new setting ... A smart and sophisticated rethinking ... provoking new thoughts and old feelings in a very Chekovian way.
Whatsonstage
Proof that Inua Ellams is one of our most exciting playwrights
Daily Telegraph
Owerri, Nigeria, 1967, on the brink of the Biafran Civil War.
Sisters Lolo, Nne Chukwu and Udo are grieving the loss of their father. Months before, two ruthless military coups plunged the country into chaos. Fuelled by foreign intervention, the conflict encroaches on their provincial village, and the sisters long to return to their former home in Lagos.
This Student Edition of Inua Ellams’s adaptation looks at how Anton Chekhov’s original play has been transposed to an African context, the background to the Biafran War and how its politics and people’s experiences are represented in the play.
Introduction
Timeline
Inua Ellams
Social and Political Context
The Berlin Conference (1884-1885)
Indirect Rule/Administration
The Formation of Nigeria
The Nigeria Civil War/Biafra War
Ethnicity
Anton Chekhov
Adaptations
Post-colonialism/post-colonial theatre/neo-colonialism
Commentary
Structure/Time
Fate and Duty
Tradition vs Modernity
Symbolism
Main Characters
Critical Reception
Glossary
Selected texts on the Biafran War
Texts Cited
Three Sisters: After Chekhov
Notes
"Must-haves for any students exploring these modern classics, or indeed anyone teaching Literature or Drama." – Teach Secondary
Methuen Drama Student Editions are expertly annotated texts of modern and classic plays designed for students' study.
Each one offers the complete text of the play as well as contemporary commentary, written by experts in the field, that provides students with an in-depth look into the background, themes and history of the play.
They include:
- An introduction giving a complete background to the play and a discussion of the social, political, cultural and economic context in which the play was originally conceived and created.
- A chronology of the playwright’s life and work, and review of the play’s production history.
- Questions for further study and preparation for examinations along with suggestions for primary and secondary materials for further study.
Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
Inua Ellams was born in Nigeria and is an internationally touring poet, playwright, performer, graphic artist and designer. He is an ambassador for the Ministry of Stories and has published four books of poetry. His plays and stage adaptations include The 14th Tale (Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Fringe First winner), Barber Shop Chronicles (National Theatre) and Three Sisters (National Theatre). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Oladipo 'Dipo' Agboluaje is a British-Nigerian playwright and academic, born in London and educated in Britain and Nigeria. He studied Theatre Arts at the University of Benin, Nigeria, and later wrote a doctoral thesis at the Open University, UK, on West and South African drama. He won the Alfred Fagon prize for playwriting for his play Iya-lle and is a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund, working in partnership with the University of East London, UK. He has written the commentary and notes to the Methuen Drama Student Edition of Inua Ellams's Barber Shop Chronicles (Bloomsbury, 2021).