Film Review: Timbuktu
By Tola Ositelu Pan-African Jihadists descend on a peaceful village in the Malian capital, disrupting the lives of the hard-working inhabitants. African and Arab…
Film Review: Samba
By Tola Ositelu Senegalese illegal immigrant Samba Cissé (Omar Sy) is trying to regularise his stay in France after being picked up by the…
Theatre Review: ‘My Children! My Africa!’ by Athol Fugard @ The Tristan Bates, London
By Tola Ositelu 1984, South Africa. Impoverished but promising 18-year old student Thami Mbakwena (Nathan Ives-Moiba) finds a kindred spirit in Isabel Dyson (Rose…
Album Review: ‘House’ by We’ll Make It Right
By Tola Ositelu A collaborative project featuring two of my favourite artists from mainland Europe? Yes, please. Late autumn 2014 saw the release of Dutch…
Film Review: Concerning Violence
By Tola Ositelu Dogwoof Productions and Scandinavian filmmaker Goran Hugo Olsson present ‘Concerning Violence’, a sobering look at the anti-colonial struggle across various African…
Live Review: Little Dragon @ The O2 Brixton Academy, 27.11.14
By Tola Ositelu It’s about time that I saw eclectic Swedish maestros Little Dragon live and in action. I’ve admired lead singer Yukimi Nagano’s…
The Adventures of a Victorian Troublemaker: Henry Sylvester Williams
By Abena Clarke His name* may have slipped through the annals of history but Henry Sylvester Williams was a man whose work back in…
Literary Classics Revisited: ‘Nervous Conditions’ by Tsitsi Dangarembga
By Tola Ositelu “‘This business of womanhood is a heavy burden’ she said ‘how could it not be? Aren’t we the ones who bear…
Theatre Review: ‘How Nigeria Became: A Story and A Spear That Didn’t Work’
By Tola Ositelu Somewhere in early 20th Century pre-industrialised West Africa, aspiring theatre director Herbert Ogunde (Tunji Falana) is having a hard time pacifying his…
Album Review: ‘Gilles Peterson Presents…Sonzeira: Brasil Bam Bam Bam’
Dear Reader, I crave your indulgence in allowing me a very smug and pedantic pre-review whinge. All this intense interest in Brazilian culture in…