Death and the King's Horseman

(Editor’s note: Death and the King’s Horseman is written in five scenes, meant to be performed without intermission.)

I

Elesin Oba, accompanied by the Praise Singer, makes his way through the marketplace as the stalls begin to close down for the evening. Elesin is a highly respected and admired horseman to the King. He is a energetic and magnetic man, and very popular with the woman of the marketplace. This evening’s shall be his last visit — the King has died, and in accordance with their tradition, Elesin must now commit ritual suicide in order to join his master and help him ascend to the afterlife. Elesin accepts his fate with integrity and pride. He is heading to the market so as to enjoy his last night on Earth. The Praise Singer laments the loss of such a great man as Elesin, and offers to accompany him in death, so that Elesin’s praises might be sung even in the afterlife; Elesin, though touched, tells his friend to remain with the living and tell his story to the generations