ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the lines of narrative and performance influences that can be traced back to black America in Mojisola Adebayo's work, highlighting in particular her adoption and adaptation of African American culture, icons and myths. In Moj of the Antarctic, Adebayo simultaneously draws attention to the conditions of slavery and treatment of black people, as well as their representation in literature and on stage. As a result, reference to books and literary allusions within the play carry significant weight. The griot character in Moj of the Antarctic serves two complimentary purposes: to locate the work in the shared experience of the African diaspora and to frame the European literary text-based dramatic tradition within an African derived tradition of orality. Muhammad Ali and Me was first performed in 2008 at the Oval House Theatre by a cast of three. The Mojitola/Ali relationship represents, in microcosm, a relationship based upon solidarity and identification within the deterritorialised space of the African diaspora.
