SOYINKA PAYS GLOWING TRIBUTE TO LATE PROF. DAPO ADELUGBA And thus, near furtively, he left, the last of the vintage links to Ibadan of the Penkelemes Years. He left quietly, as he lived his life – fusslessly. Slight and willowy, he exuded an irrepressible optimism in the social therapy of theatre, and its autonomous but vulnerable existence as a community in itself, for which no personal sacrifice is excessive. Dapo Adelugba – “Uncle D” to many – embodied, and lived that credo. He taught it and infused a younger generation with its spirit both by example, and through mentorship. His slight frame belied his energy and intensity in pursuit of this all-consuming mission. Dapo’s unobtrusive presence was a mask for his creative capacity, loyal to an idea, even to a fault. My mind leaps instantly to a thankless burden he undertook when he pioneered the weekly television drama series after I was thrown into detention during the civil war. Dapo flogged himself nearly death to generate new scripts, edit, adapt and present play upon play – Wale Ogunyemi among his stalwarts. In between lecture commitments he would rehearse and tape, sometimes late into the night, determined that Orisun Theatre would not go down despite my absence, and despite the depredations of the civil war. When I emerged and watched him at work, ensuring that the next play would go on as scheduled, I could only marvel at his dedication. It seemed a heartless decision to terminate the series, but quality had suffered from the sheer pace and volume of production. Dapo did not demur, though he was pained. What a sadly nostalgic note on which ‘Uncle D’ has chosen to take his final bow, and exit. Ibadan has again turned violently ‘penkelemessy’. The rampages of the past few days grimly echo the political environment of those nineteen sixties which called into being Orisun Theatre, its mission to puncture social afflatus, gore sacred cows, call power to order, and warn against the turbid present Before the Blackout.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 09:56:17 +0000
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