who is known as the father of modern nigeria theatre
Hubert Ogunde Oloye Hubert Adedeji Ogunde (10 July 1916 â€“ 4 April 1990) was a Nigerian actor, playwright, theatre manager, and musician who founded the African Music Research Party in 1945, the first contemporary professional theatrical company in Nigeria. He changed the name to Ogunde Theater Party in 1947 and in 1950 he again changed the name to Ogunde Theater Party. Finally, in 1960 he changed the name of his company to Ogunde Theater which remained until his death in 1990. He has been described as "the father of Nigerian theatre, or the father of contemporary Yoruba theatre".[1] In his career on stage, he wrote more than 50 plays,[2] most of which incorporate dramatic action, dance and music with a story reflecting the political and social realities of the period.[3] His first production was a church-financed play called The Garden of Eden that premiered at Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos, in 1944. Its success encouraged Ogunde to produce more plays and he soon left his job with the police force for a career in theatre. In the 1940s, he released some plays with political commentaries: The Tiger's Empire, Strike and Hunger and Bread and Bullet (1950). During the 1950s, he toured various Nigerian cities with his travelling troupe. In 1964, he released Yoruba Ronu, a play that generated controversy and earned him the wrath of Akintola, premier of the Western Region. His Ogunde Theater was banned in the Western Region of Nigeria for two years and the ban was only revoked by the new military government of Lt. Col. F. A. Fajuyi on 4th Feb. 1966. In the late 1970s, Ogunde was spurred by the success of Ija Ominira and Ajani Ogun, two pioneer Yoruba feature-length films, to co-produce his first celluloid film, Aiye, in 1979. He released three more (Jaiyesimi, Aropin N'tenia and Ayanmo) feature-length films influenced by Yoruba mysticism.