A Dance of the Forests is a play by Nigerian poet and playwright, Wole Soyinka. The play was written around the time Nigeria became independent from colonial rule and includes themes of post-colonialism, decolonization, and a critique of political corruption.
The play starts with a Dead Man and Dead Woman emerging form a burial plot in the middle of a forest clearing. Throughout the play we learn that the couple have lived multiple lives, and were previously killed by King Mata Kharibu and Queen Madame Tortoise for the Dead Man's refusal to fight in Mata Kharibu and Madame Tortoise's war. The couple, or unsettled souls, are in the forest clearing for the Gathering of Tribes, and the...
