Narrative Strategies in Femi Osofisan’s Once Upon Four Robbers and Salah Abdel-Sabur’s Ba’d an Yamut al-Malik

In the postmodern era, the boundaries of drama have become rather flexible due to the manipulation of oral tradition, storytelling, monologues and narration as integral parts of the dramatic fabric. In his seminal work “Voice and Narration”, Brian Richardson rightly contends that “Narration has long been a basic feature of the twentieth-century stage, and one that ought to be more fully appreciated and extensively theorized”. The fusion of narrative techniques into the dramatic action adds to the idea of experimentation and self-reflexivity on stage. This study proposes to analyze and compare the elements of narration and storytelling in African and Arab drama. The selected texts are Femi Osofisan’s Once Upon Four Robbers that deals with the moral and legal definitions of armed robbery and the inability of the government to solve this problem; and Salah Abdul-Sabur’s Ba’d an Yamut al-Malik (Now the King is Dead) that deals with political oppression and spiritual deprivation. The choice of these works is based on the fact that both dramatists make extensive use of a rich oral tradition and storytelling in an attempt to weave oral tradition and drama. Much emphasis is placed upon narrative techniques as a means of dramatizing societal issues, offering an indirect political commentary on modern Nigerian and Egyptian history and involving audience as well.