Inside The Swamp Dwellers: Conversations from the Utopia Theatre Rehearsal Room
Cast members Joshua Roberts-Mensah, Urielle Klein-Mekongo and Obi Maduegbuna explore the characters, tensions and contemporary relevance of Wole Soyinka’s The Swamp Dwellers directed by Dr Mojisola Kareem
Recorded during rehearsals at Utopia Theatre Creative Hub, this special episode of Inside the Continent with Baillor Jalloh goes behind the scenes of Wole Soyinka’s The Swamp Dwellers, directed by Dr Mojisola Kareem.
Joshua Roberts-Mensah reflects on Igwezu, a man caught between two worlds that have both failed him, and considers what the character’s silences reveal.
Urielle Klein-Mekongo discusses Alu and the exhaustion of a woman carrying personal and communal memory amid uncertainty and loss.
Obi Maduegbuna explores The Beggar, a blind stranger whose insight challenges what the other characters believe they can see and understand.
Written in 1958, The Swamp Dwellers confronts questions that remain urgent: environmental instability, displacement, exploitation, failed promises and the relationship between people and the land on which their lives depend.
This episode was produced by African Voices Platform in partnership with Utopia Theatre.
The Swamp Dwellers runs from 29 June to 11 July 2026 at Utopia Theatre Creative Hub in Sheffield.