Once Upon A Time In Sokoto review – exuberant history lesson on intra-African slavery

Royal and Derngate, NorthamptonInua Ellams displays a Stoppardian or Fraynian relish in turning complex topics into enjoyable theatre in his latest playOver the last decade, Inua Ellams has written inventive and educational plays centred on modern Nigeria, starting with Barber Shop Chronicles in which hair care allowed cutting commentary on masculinity and politics.Although The Half God of Rainfall had a detour to Mount Olympus, typical of Ellams’s structural fun, the focus was postcolonial Nigeria, his superb relocation of Chekhov’s Three Sisters to 1960s Africa showing ructions resulting from British imperial ruler Lord Lugard coercing the playwright’s birth nation from multiple cultures.At the Royal and Derngate, Northampton, until 10 October, then touring. Continue reading...