When Big Masquerades Dance Naked

When Big Masquerades Dance Naked is a biting satire on power, corruption and greed in the fictional town of Ilekoro, a town where political officeholder connive with traditional rulers to trample on the rights and commonwealth of the masses. But their oppression does not go without opposition as manifested in the character of Ijoba and ilk, who struggle relentlessly to light a torch of hope for the people through the long, tortuous nights. When Big Masquerades Dance Naked is not just a limpid portrayal of our social realities, it is a play that calls everyone to action; a treatise on how truth trumps darkness and prevails in the advancement of our common humanity.

Olubunmi Familoni writes plays, screenplays, poetry, children novels, and short fiction. His debut collection of short stories, Smithereens of Death, won the ANA/Abubakar Gimba Prize for Short Stories in 2015; his debut play, Every Single Day, was selected by the British Council for Production as part of the Lagos Theatre Festival in 2016; his children’s book, I’ll Call My Brother For You, won the ANA Prize for Children’s Literature in 2020; his poetry chapbook, Love is a Profusion of Roses Growing from the Barrel of a Gun, was second runner-up for the Libretto Chapbook Prize 2020. His works have appeared in Bakwa Magazine, Jalade Africa, Afridiaspora Anthology, Kikwetu Literary journal, Panorma journal, Ake Review, Agbowo, among other publications. He lives and works in Ibadan, Nigeria.