About the Show

A poignant drama where faith, betrayal, and modernity collide in a flood-prone Niger Delta hut.

In this rarely staged 1958 masterwork by Nobel Prize-winner Wole Soyinka, The Swamp Dwellers delves into universal themes through a tragic story rooted in Yoruba myth and set in a humble hut in the Niger Delta. An aging couple, living on perpetually flooded land and awaiting the return of one of their twin sons from the city, faces a profound crisis of faith and trust when visited by a self-satisfied Yoruba holy man and a blind Muslim beggar. The play explores corrupt religion, family betrayal, environmental degradation, post-colonial exploitation, and the tension between urban modernity and rural tradition. Directed by Obie Award winner Awoye Timpo, this production continues her collaboration with TFANA to bring another significant mid-century work to life.

Critic Reviews (6)

"Director Awoye Timpo and a pitch-perfect cast slowly crank up the intensity, balancing knife-edge tension with a deeply metaphorical story. "
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“…the most dramatically inert theatre piece I have seen in several seasons.”
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"a compact, hour-long domestic drama that pulses with elemental force"
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"Director Awoye Timpo adroitly balances archetype against character, bringing us figures whose life circumstances are grounded but who also have the gravitas of those moved by the Fates."
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"Even six decades since its debut, ‘The Swamp Dwellers’ still whispers truths to modern Western audiences — about family loyalty, the downsides of urbanization...and the undue influence of corrupt religious figures."
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"Time and experience have shaped the hopeful young man who wrote 'The Swamp Dwellers' into a worldly old man with a dented sense of possibility."
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Cast and creative team

Theatre for a New Audience