Renowned playwright, Femi Osofisan becomes 1st African to win Thalia Prize

Renowned Nigerian playwright, Professor Femi Osofisan was on Tuesday, September 27, officially honoured with his award as Africa’s first winner of the coveted Thalia Prize.

In February, 70-year-old Osofisan, was recognised with the Thalia Award for his extraordinary career as a critic, scholar, playwright and spokesman for artistic freedom in Nigeria, as well as his outspoken criticism of artistic repression across the African continent.

He has been formally inducted as the winner of the unique professional honour by International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC), a UNESCO global partner, in Serbia, Belgrade.

Prof. Osofisan becomes the first African and indeed first Black literary scholar to win the prestigious award, following in the footsteps of Prof. Wole Soyinka who was also the first African to win a Nobel Laureate prize in 1986.

The seasoned author has a large number of plays and critical essays, including The Oriki of A Grasshopper. Veteran cinematographer, Tunde Kelani‘s 2012 movie, Maami and 2014’s Yeepa, are adaptations of Prof. Osofisan’s novel and play respectively.