Inua Ellams, the Nigerian-born poet, playwright, and artist behind Barber Shop Chronicles and The 14th Tale, returns to UK stages this autumn with Once Upon a Time in Sokoto, winner of the 2024 Alfred Fagon Award, now touring nationally in a production from Fuel Theatre in association with Touring Together. Directed by Roy Alexander Weise, the play tells the epic, unlikely story of a friendship forged between an enslaved woman and her former master, tracing how differences in faith, culture, and heritage are overcome in the face of new enemies, all set against the historical backdrop of events leading to the creation of Nigeria.

The production brings together a cast led by Nafisa Adeola Yemitan, Zinari Antonia Layiwola, Hadiru Bayo Gbadamosi, and Yusef Will Atiomo, with set design from Amelia Jane Hankin, composition by Femi Temowo, movement direction by Coral Messam, and costume design by Jessica Cabassa. It’s a return to familiar creative territory for Ellams and Fuel, who previously partnered on the internationally acclaimed Barber Shop Chronicles, a show The Independent called “life-affirmingly realised” and The New York Times praised for its “humanity and glancing wit”, a pedigree that sets a high bar for this latest collaboration.

Once Upon a Time in Sokoto is part of Touring Together, a new national programme from China Plate and Fuel, delivered in collaboration with Brighton Dome, Leeds Playhouse, Oxford Playhouse, Royal & Derngate Northampton, and Warwick Arts Centre, and supported through National Lottery funding via Arts Council England, alongside additional backing from the Garrick Charitable Trust. The programme is built around bringing bold, perspective-shifting stories to audiences across the country, and this production’s sweep across seven UK venues over five months reflects that ambition directly.

The tour opens at Royal & Derngate in Northampton from September 28 to October 10, before moving to Oxford Playhouse (October 13–17), Nottingham Playhouse (October 29–31), Warwick Arts Centre (November 5–7), Leeds Playhouse (November 11–14), Brighton Dome (November 17–21), and closing at Bristol Old Vic from February 2–13, 2027. Tickets are available now through each venue’s individual box office, linked here. This is a rare chance to catch one of Nigerian theatre’s most internationally celebrated storytellers bring a distinctly Nigerian historical epic to stages across Britain.