🎥 We’re cooking something delicious for you on our YouTube channel. In the coming days, you will learn SSCE literature texts like you're in class 📚✍🏽
Be part of this new journey we are about to embark on.
🔔 Subscribe Now
Esu and the Vagabond Minstrels by Femi Osofisan is divided into four scenes, each with its accompanying choral songs. The first scene is titled the Orchestra; the second the Overture; the third the Opium; and the fourth scene is titled the Hangover.
Summary of Orchestra
This is the opening scene of the play, and the whole community is suffused with festivities and celebration, dampened only by the news of a coup d’etat. The community’s theatre has been rehearsing for a drama competition, which seems unaffected by the abrupt change in government. In the words of the community leader:
The competition is still very much on, my friend! What do they say? “The government changes, the people remain!” Let them go on with their fighting over there in the capital! It doesn’t concern us, does it?
Chief (p. 37, Esu and the Vagabond Minstrels)
Everybody sings ‘The Song of Khaki and Agbada’, first as an assertion of the corruption of both the ousted civilian government (signified by ‘Agbada’) and the supplanting military government (symbolised by ‘Khaki’); then to acknowledge that there is no difference between the two, regardless of the holier-than-thou claim of one over the other, that beyond the change in uniform and cosmetic change of government, nothing significant happens except for the continual siphoning and looting of public treasury. Aside from corruption, another point of convergence of both governments is their mutual indifference to the plight of the masses.
He proceeds to assemble the actors (also the Players) to enact before them (the audience on stage) the very play they are planning to present at the competition. The characters (Ade, Leke, Taju, etcetera) assemble and set the stage for the play they are about to enact. Ade, particularly, speaks about how the play is about vagabond musicians who have been rendered jobless by the abrupt change of government that leaves at its wake the proscription of music and entertainment. These vagabonds trek from a place to another in search of jobs, until they come to a crossroads which is the folkloric home of Esu and the epicentre of the activities in this play.
Themes in Orchestra
There are a few themes in this scene. One is systemic corruption, as indicated in ‘The Song of Khaki and Agbada’ which depicts both the ousted civilian regime (“Agbada”) and the new military rulers (“Khaki”) as exploiters of public wealth, given the unchanged looting of resources juxtaposed against their neglect of the masses. Another is the theme of political instability as witnessed in the abrupt shift in government with the orchestrating of the coup d’etat. Also noticeable is the theme of suppression of creativity and livelihood, a recurring theme in Osofisan’s works. This is demonstrated by Ade’s explanation that the vagabond musicians were rendered jobless due to the new regime’s proscription of entertainment.
Dramatic Techniques in Orchestra
One dramatic technique that is apparent in this scene is the play-within-a-play technique (or metatheatre). This is created when the chief assembles the community actors to rehearse the drama they intend to present at the competition. Music is also used as a dramatic device, notably with ‘The Song of Khaki and Agbada’ which is used both to open the play and to convey political criticism. The song functions as exposition (it reveals the political situation), choric commentary, and symbolism (Khaki and Agbada representing two corrupt systems). The collective rendition of the song operates like a Greek-style chorus.
On symbolism, beyond the Khaki and Agbada symbols, there is crossroads, which is Esu’s domain, and a symbol for moral choices, liminality and transitions. The vagabonds Ade talks about are a symbol of the neglected, creative underclass of society. In addition to this, situating the action at the crossroads introduces Yoruba cosmology as a dramatic mode; folkloric element.
Besides, that the community treats the coup as inconsequential and believes it “doesn’t concern” them is quite ironic because the audience understands that political instability will inevitably shape their lives, in the sameness of vagabonds Ade is talking about. This disconnect creates dramatic irony in this scene. Finally, instead of the dominance of a single protagonist, Osofisan opts for ensemble acting. The gathering of actors with their prospected collective performance are indicative of the communal nature of Osofisan’s dramaturgy.
Receive Literary Updates through our Social Media Channels:
- WhatsApp: Literature PADI
- Telegram: Literature PADI
- YouTube: @literaturepadi
- Facebook: Literature PADI
