
Death and The King s Horseman FLYER Pg1
Tickets are available at:
https://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/events/death-and-the-kings-horseman
Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka’s iconic Nigerian play, Death and the King's Horseman will be staged in Sheffield for the first time – from Monday 3rd to Saturday 8th February 2025.
In a co-production with Sheffield Theatres, Utopia Theatre’s epic staging of the play will be at The Crucible theatre.
Set in Nigeria in the late 1940’s, the play is based on the true story of Elesin, the king's horseman, who is tasked with carrying out a sacred ritual upon the death of the king. However, Elesin is overtaken by the allure of earthly desires.
This thought-provoking resonant theatrical experience will showcase music and dance, deeply rooted in the culture and spirituality of the Yoruba people.
Two titans of African theatre, film and TV, Wale Ojo and Kehinde Bankole, lead the cast of 27 performers in this play directed by Mojisola Kareem (Here’s What She Said to Me, Far Gone, Anna Hibiscus’ Song).
The cast are also “encouraging those who come along to wear something representing their culture, which can be from headwear or jewellery to a full outfit. It will be a spectacle!”

Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King's Horseman comes to Sheffield
A Utopia Theatre and Sheffield Theatres Production
Death and The King's Horseman
By Wole Soyinka | Directed by Mojisola Kareem
‘Life is honour. It ends when honour ends’