A Study Guide for Wole Soyinka's "The Trials of Brother Jero"

By Gale and Cengage

A Study Guide for Wole Soyinka's "The Trials of Brother Jero," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Drama For Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Drama For Students for all of your research needs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cengage Learning - Gale
• Release date: Aug 12, 2016
• ISBN: 9781535840187

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09

The Trials of Brother Jero

Wole Soyinka

1960

Introduction

The Trials of Brother Jero is a play by Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka. It was first produced in the dining hall at Mellanby Hall, University College, Ibadan, Nigeria, in April 1960. Notable productions were staged at the Hampstead Theatre Club in London during June 1966, and at the Mews Theatre, New York City, beginning at the end of October 1967. The play was first published in Nigeria in 1963 and by Oxford University Press in 1964. It is available from the same publisher as one of five plays in Soyinka's Collected Plays 2.

The Trials of Brother Jero is a light satiric comedy that takes aim at religious hypocrisy in the form of a charlatan, or fraud, named Brother Jero, who preaches to his followers on Bar Beach in Lagos, Nigeria. Jero is a master of manipulation and keeps his followers in a subservient position because he understands what they long for—money, social status, and power—and convinces them that they will soon be able to fulfill these materialistic desires. For their part, they are gullible enough to believe him. The vitality of the rogue Jero makes him a popular figure with audiences, and this rambunctious, humorous play is one of the best-known and most frequently performed of Soyinka's early works.

Author Biography

Nigerian playwright, poet, novelist, and essayist Wole Soyinka, whose given name was Akinwande Oluwole, was born on July 13, 1934, in Isara, Nigeria. Born into the Yoruba tribe, he was the son of Ayo and Eniola Soyinka; his father was a headmaster of a school established by the British. At the time, Nigeria was under British rule.

Soyinka attended the University of Ibadan and continued his education at the University of Leeds, England. He graduated with honors, with a bachelor of arts degree in English in 1957 and then spent over a year as a play reader at the Royal Court Theatre in London. His early plays The Swamp Dwellers, The Lion and the Jewel, and The Invention all received productions in London in 1958 and 1959.

Returning to Nigeria in 1960, just after Nigeria became independent, Soyinka's career as a dramatist flourished. He established

Reviews for A Study Guide for Wole Soyinka's "The Trials of Brother Jero"

[Grant Griffiths · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Excellent guide to the play. Covers everything you need to know in a concise and easy to follow format. ideal for Cambridge IGCSE.