The Hounding of David Oluwale

Synopsis

May 1969 and the body of David Oluwale is pulled from a river. Eighteen months later, the investigation into his death will rip apart the police force, exposing the dark side of the shiny, new city in which he died. An optimistic, ambitious immigrant from Nigeria, David Oluwale was a showman who loved to dance, but who became the destitute victim of police brutality. Oladipo Agboluaje’s sensitive adaptation picks through the many accounts of Oluwale to reveal a chilling and resonant story of persecution and prejudice. Adapted from Kester Aspden’s critically acclaimed book, this timely, gripping play unravels the mystery of Oluwale’s life and violent death.

Our Review:

5 February 2009

The Hounding of David Oluwale premiered at West Yorkshire Playhouse at the start of its Eclipse Theatre tour, has plenty going for it, notably a shocking and dramatic real-life subject and a superb central performance, but somehow the impact is less than expected, especially in the first half. It should be a harrowing experience, but it seldom is, though quite possibly the edge will develop as the tour progresses.

Oladipo Agboluaje’s adaptation of Kester Aspden’s book is based on events in Leeds in 1969. A vagrant, David Oluwale, was hounded to his death by two senior police officers who, after an investigation, became the only British policemen to be tried for the death of a man of African descent – a fact from the programme which I find almost more disturbing than the action on stage.

That action begins dramatically with the body being dragged from the River Aire, then, as Perkins, the Scotland Yard investigator, approaches, Da...

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