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:

26 March 2009

On the 4th of May 1969, David Oluwale’s badly beaten body was heaved out of the River Aire. An immigrant from Lagos, Oluwale had spent the past twenty years as a Leeds resident, living homeless for the majority of that time.

Oladipo Agboluaje’s adaptation of Kester Aspden’s novel reimagines David’s life from the perspective of the internal enquiry that took place after his death. Inspector Perkins, cutely played by Ryan Early, pictures a man pursued ruthlessly by local police, constantly moved on and attacked for blood sport. We see Oluwale – his name mispronounced and misspelt –disintegrate in the midst of a society unable to see past the colour of his skin. Seeking a conviction for murder, Perkins is finally left to contend with a half justice as a verdict of assault is pronounced on his perpetrators.

Only towards its end does Agboluaje’s play admit even slightly of its own subjective bias. For ninety minutes, it tells ...

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