Theatre
Oda Oak Oracle
Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin · 1964
Synopsis
In the village, the oracle of the oda oak decrees the marriage of Shanka and Ukutee, and demands that their first-born be sacrificed to the spirits of the ancestors. The couple seeks to evade this law, while Goaa, Shanka's friend, whose ideas have drawn him away from tradition, disturbs the order of the village. The play in verse, subtitled legend of the black peoples, told of the gods and of God, of hope and of love, of fears and of sacrifices, sets the oracle's decree against those who refuse it.
Context
Its author usually wrote in Amharic, and brought Shakespeare, Molière and Brecht into that language. This play, composed in English, was first staged in Addis Ababa in 1964, while he was directing the national theatre, and published the following year in London by Oxford University Press. It has since been performed in Great Britain, Denmark, Italy, Kenya, Nigeria, Romania, Tanzania and the United States.
Who it is for
In English and in verse. A tragedy that can be followed without preparation, provided one accepts an elevated theatrical language, far from everyday dialogue.
Prizes and reception
The best-known play of its author outside Ethiopia, staged in eight countries of Europe, Africa and America.