From the mid 1960s onward, Olawole Ogunyemi has been one of the most prominent dramatists working in the Nigerian English-language theater. Although his work, little known outside his own country, has received sparse critical attention, Ogunyemi's example provided a significant stimulus for younger Nigerian dramatists who shared his belief that English need not be regarded exclusively as the language of an elitist and academic theater. In certain respects Ogunyemi's work is thematically conservative--in its "uncritical" reproduction, for example, of Yoruba myth--and the admiration of younger dramatists has been qualified as a result. But Ogunyemi's mastery of stagecraft and, in particular, his preference for a "total" theater in which nonverbal elements play a crucial signifying role made his work an important reference point for other artists. Ogunyemi was also one of the first Nigerian dramatists to work enthusiastically for television, a medium that provided significant outlets for Nigerian theater...