Racism is based upon a kind of fear, an aspect which is very present in my research. It deals with fear, with confronting tomorrow, even when you don’t know what tomorrow brings.
In Conversation with Lekan Balogun
We spoke to Dr. Lekan Balogun, researcher, dramatist and self-proclaimed, “complete man of the theatre”, about Nigeria, Shakespeare and his work. Balogun’s research focuses on Nigerian Shakespeare adaptations.
Through these he aims to introduce a “familiar stranger” into the Nigerian community. By highlighting the artistic and performative practices that are already familiar in Nigeria paired with a more widely accessible language, he aims to create a space for Shakespearean literature in Nigeria.
Cologne International Forum:
Welcome Lekan. Tell me a little bit about yourself.
Lekan Balogun:
I am Lekan Balogun. Actually, it is Olalekan, but I prefer the short version. I am a Nigerian scholar primarily, but I began my life as a stage actor. I then began to write, began to direct, began to produce. I also have a professional theatre company in Nigeria, so I’m like a complete man of the theatre. I am also possibly the first person in Nigeria to have a PhD in Shakespearean scholarship. I got my PhD at the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand in 2017. And since then, I have done a couple of fellowships here and there. I was a visiting scholar at the National University of Ireland. Then I was an Andrew W. Mellon research fellow at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
What kind of research were you doing there?
We worked on a funded project called “Reimagining Tragedy from Africa and the Global South” (ReTAGS), where we dealt with tragedy as conceived from the classic Greek and how it is reimagined in everyday situations, especially from an African perspective. Thinking about the complexities of a postcolonial past and present, in South Africa and elsewhere. We also did productions there. For example, an adaptation of Antigone called Antigone (not quite/quiet), directed by Mark Fleishman.
That sounds very interesting. Could you maybe tell us more about your history with Germany?
The first time, I was invited to Germany, was by Ifeoluwa Aboluwade and her colleagues from the University of Bayreuth. They were doing a project there dealing with Shakespeare in relation to Africa. Because of my publications and research in Shakespearean literature, I was invited to present a paper there. That was in the year 2020. Two weeks afterwards the entire world was on lockdown. So, I went back to the project I was doing in South Africa and stayed there till October, as I couldn’t leave the country. The second time, I came back to Germany, was last year when I won the Bayreuth Academy Advanced African Research Fellowship. Unfortunately, I had to leave after a month, due to sickness. But now I am back for my third time. I am here, courtesy of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. I won the George Foster fellowship for experienced researchers with a duration of 18 months.
"In what I’ve read, Shakespeare seemed to be more German than British."
Third time’s the charm! I wonder, in what way is Germany relevant to your field of Shakespeare?
In what I’ve read, Shakespeare seemed to be more German than British. The first Shakespearean research organization was surprisingly established in Weimar, not in London. The written record has even shown that in the European hemisphere, the first set of places that travelling theatres in London came to was Germany, in the 16th and 17th centuries. Germany also has the first folio of Shakespeare’s works and it is currently on display here in Cologne. This country has done a lot of investment in Shakespeare and that is what sets it apart from other European nations. So, I think it’s significant to do that work here. Especially, when I am bringing my Nigerian groundwork. I guess the Humboldt Foundation saw the sense in funding that exploration.
Okay, so Germany has a certain significance in Shakespearean work. What made Cologne interesting for your fellowship?
I was looking for a host who qualified for the work that I wanted to do, which is, obviously, Shakespeare-focused. Then I discovered Professor Peter Marx, who is the director of the Institute of Media and Theater, here at the University of Cologne. Professor Marx had done quite a lot of work on Shakespeare so I thought, that he would understand perfectly what I wanted to do in terms of research.
And what is the groundwork you are currently doing?
The title of my research is "Violent Bard". It’s a play on words, as Shakespeare was known as “The Bard”. However, I am not literally talking about Shakespeare, I am talking about adaptations of Shakespeare that are looking at Nigeria’s situation at the moment. Essentially, I am examining how those plays talk about the Nigerian experience. So, what is the current situation in Nigeria? It has been eight years of horrific violence, economic depression and poverty under the tenure of the current ruling government.
So, you would say that to fit into your research field, the plays need to have an aspect of structural violence to them?
Exactly. We have Ahmed Yerima’s Otaelo, which is an adaptation of Othello; Femi Osofisan’s Love’s Unlike Lading, an adaptation of The Merchant of Venice; Segun Adefila’s Love at War, an adaptation of Two Noble Kinsmen; and Biola Adumati’s Aare Ajagungbade, an adaptation of Macbeth.
These plays, and a few others that I have not included belong to the Violent Bard group. What makes these plays both interesting and intriguing for my research is that the people are supporting those that are destroying them. For me, it mirrors everything that is going on in Nigeria at the moment. The people in Nigeria are divided and are still in support of the politicians responsible for the problems society is encountering. The situation is frightening and I wonder: how can people support their adversaries?
"What makes someone Nigerian? We say we are a nation, however, still feel and act like some are more Nigerian than others. What criteria do we have to determine to what degree someone is more of something, than somebody else?"
Could you give an example of one play, which focuses on current Nigerian politics?
For example, Otaelo brings up a cultural practice called Osu, amongst the Igbo people of Nigeria, similar to the caste system in India. It’s a practice that encourages racism of some sort and, in the Nigerian context, one which lays bare the problem of tribal and ethnic bigotry and its dangerous consequences. In the last election, the “Igbo question”, or what I can also refer to as the “Seductive Tyranny of Tribe Over Nation”, came up again and played a major role in deciding who won the elections.
What makes someone Nigerian? We say we are a nation, however, still feel and act like some are more Nigerian than others. What criteria do we have to determine to what degree someone is more of something, than somebody else? This entire idea goes back to racism and we find it all over the world, of course, but the Nigerian situation, as shown by the last election, portends future danger, something that threatens the continued existence and integrity of the country.
What I think is interesting about the questions you just raised is - there are no answers.
That is the whole thing! In my research, I am trying to raise more questions than provide answers, because I can’t pretend to have them. But perhaps, in 18 months, when I get my work published, other people can also start asking themselves those questions. But what can be said is, that racism is based upon a kind of fear, an aspect which is very present in my research. It deals with fear, with confronting tomorrow, even when you don’t know what tomorrow brings. So, it is a heavy tomorrow, a pregnant tomorrow.
How developed is the current research on Shakespeare in Nigeria?
It hardly exists. People rarely speak about Shakespeare, apart from reading Twelfth Night in secondary school. Even I struggled to understand it, back when I first read it. But then, one day, by chance, I saw a performance of Macbeth and that was when I began to say, “Wow! There is something really interesting about this writer”.
When I was a lecturer at the University of Lagos in 2017, I essentially introduced Shakespeare to the students and they were interested in learning about him. He isn’t a very popular author in Nigeria, so my research is a twofold thing. I am using the adaptations to talk about the current situation in Nigeria, but at the same time, I am introducing Shakespeare into the Nigerian community. Not as Shakespeare, but as an adapted form of Shakespeare. I am utilizing the artistic and performative traditions that they are already familiar with in Nigeria. I am essentially bringing in a familiar stranger. An outsider. All by making Shakespeare more accessible to current Nigerian issues and also language-wise.
"I am a very committed artist and my personality is a mixture of optimism and pessimism. [...] I want my work to engage society and change people’s expectations."
All right, thank you, Lekan. Perhaps, to conclude the interview, could you tell us one aspect that you want people to remember about yourself and your work?
About myself? I am a very committed artist and my personality is a mixture of optimism and pessimism. Maybe it’s a difficult terrain, but whether you like it or not, once you have seen society fail many times, experienced unfulfilled campaign promises by politicians and the abortion of lofty dreams as I have done, you can’t help becoming pessimistic. I want my work to engage society and change people’s expectations, in terms of, “if you don’t expect too much, you won’t be disappointed”. At least help people cope with the prospect of failure, especially failure coming out of political disillusionment. And then writing about Shakespeare adaptations allows me to be able to face the reality of how a nation should not be governed and why there is a need to reimagine what we do.
Lastly, I have been reading about the University of Cologne for 15 years and I never knew I was going to come here. I think it is one of those institutions that represents Germany with its antique feel. I feel truly honored to have been given this opportunity at this institution and I want to thank Peter Marx for agreeing to be my host—an excellent host, as a matter of fact—and the Humboldt organization for making it possible for me to be here. As our people, the Yoruba people, will say: Ę şeun púpò! (Thank you so very much).
Interview: Berna Süngü