Once Upon A Time In Sokoto
Once Upon a Time in Sokoto By Inua Ellams. At Warwick Arts Centre 5-7 November 2026.
With syndicated interview written by Precious Adesina.
Preview
"There are powers that bind the world together, softer than spirits yet stronger than stone, that tie the river to the tree, the tree to rain clouds, rain clouds to the land, and people to each other."
The award-winning Once Upon a Time in Sokoto tells the epic story of a beautiful but unlikely friendship forged between an enslaved woman and her former master. Differences in faith, culture and heritage are overcome in the face of new enemies, in a gripping family drama set against the backdrop of events leading to the creation of Nigeria.
Winner of the 2024 Alfred Fagon Award for Once Upon a Time in Sokoto, Nigeria-born Inua Ellams is an internationally celebrated poet, playwright, and artist. He has published four poetry collections, and his plays include the hugely popular and critically acclaimed Barber Shop Chronicles (Fuel/National Theatre, UK and International tour) and the award-winning The 14th Tale (Fuel/UK tour) and his retelling of Three Sisters (National Theatre).
Once Upon a Time in Sokoto is commissioned by Fuel and presented by Fuel in association with Touring Together - a new national programme, bringing bold stories which shine a fresh light on the world we live in today, to audiences across the country.
Touring Together is a China Plate and Fuel initiative in collaboration with Brighton Dome, Leeds Playhouse, Oxford Playhouse, Royal and Derngate, Northampton and Warwick Arts Centre, generously supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
Once Upon a Time in Sokoto is part of HOME - a season of work exploring the idea of HOME.
In a syndicated interview with Inua Ellams, Precious Adesina asked:
What is the role of the Sokoto Caliphate in the play, and how familiar are you expecting audience members to be with it?
Inua Ellams answered: “The play begins six decades after the founding of the Sokoto Caliphate. Even though I was born in the region, I wasn’t familiar with it until I started researching it, so I don't think audiences will be either. I tell this story through the lens of four main characters: Zinari, an upper-middle-class Muslim Fulani woman; Nafisa, a woman who Zinari’s family enslaved; Hadiru, a man Zinari employed; and Yusef, who returns home from what is now southern Nigeria with an understanding of the British forces making their way to the north and hoping to alleviate the suffering that he knows is about to come.”
Q. The play is both critical of the misuse of religion while respectful of faith. How did you find that balance?
Inua: “I was born into a multi-faith household. My father was a Muslim, my mother was a Christian. Growing up, I regularly went to both the mosque and the church, so I understand religious pluralism. When news about Boko Haram came, many indigenous Nigerians demonised Islam, whereas my earliest relationship with Islam was about peace and community. So, I'm able to divorce true religion from the weaponising of religion by extremist groups such as Boko Haram, or even the far right in the UK with Christianity.”
Q: What do you want people to take away from the play?
Inua: “That in the last 200 to 300 years, not much has changed. Unfortunately, women are still struggling for liberation; capitalism and power still contribute to toxic masculinity; and many of us are still striving to tell our own stories and be understood. Also, that no war is ever justified, however much you dress it up.”
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