Ola Rotimi 84th birthday谷歌标志

13 April 2022
Ola Rotimi's 84th birthday
Emmanuel Gladstone Olawale Rotimi, also known as Ola Rotimi, was in the spotlight for more reasons than one. Today’s Doodle celebrates the renowned Nigerian playwright, director, actor, choreographer and designer, who used his art to reflect on Nigeria’s rich culture, diversity, and local traditions.

Ola Rotimi was born in 1938 and grew up in a family of artists: His mother managed a traditional dance group and his father organized a community theater. His father also directed and produced a play where Rotimi would show up on stage for the first time at only four-years-old. His family’s passion for the arts, as well as his mixed parentage—an Ijaw mother and Yoruba father—greatly influenced his future work. He would later attend Boston University to study theater and earned an M.F.A. degree at Yale University in playwriting and dramatic literature.

Throughout Rotimi’s career, he wrote and directed dozens of plays and short stories that poignantly examined Nigeria’s ethnic traditions and history. He was known to have a larger-than-life vision and embraced dance, music, and even mime within his productions. Rotimi’s plays pulled back the curtain to unveil traditional Nigerian rituals, songs, and dances to audiences all over the world. Some of his most celebrated and award-winning works include The Gods Are Not to Blame, Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again, and Kurunmi.

Happy birthday to “the father of Nollywood” and one of Nigeria’s foremost dramatists, Ola Rotimi.