"Dionysos in Other Words / in Other Worlds" Olakunbi Olasope, Stanley J. Seeger Visiting Fellow, spring 2026

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A deliberate, critical return to the classical archive defines Nigerian playwright Femi Osofisan’s adaptations of three classical Greek tragedies. Rather than retelling inherited narratives, Osofisan reopens primary texts through a reflective, transformative process that interrogates history, justice, and the ethics of storytelling. His work invites audiences into an imaginative act of return, approaching origins through contemporary concerns. Informed by classical reception theory, his adaptations reinterpret ancient material within new political and cultural contexts. This talk will show how Osofisan brings disparate historical moments into contact — and often into tension — as he scrutinizes inherited traditions, reconfiguring classical narratives to foreground justice, memory, and modern relevanc.
Respondent: Peter Kelly, Classics

Program in African Studies | View More Events

Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies
Co-hosted with: Princeton Institute for International & Regional Studies, Africa World Initiative

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