Ebun Clark ( Odutola) is an academic and the first Nigerian professor in the field of theatre arts.

Biography

Clark was born into the Odutola family of Ijebuland. Her father was Jimoh Odutola, a businessman and Adeola Odutola's younger brother. She studied speech and voice at Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance, Sidcup, London. She was one of the pioneering lecturers of the school of drama at the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public university located in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Initially founded as the University College Ibadan in 1948, it maintained its affiliation with the University of London. In 1962, it became an independe ...

in 1963. In 1965, she moved to the department of English at the

University of Lagos The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is a Public university, public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria, which was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the education in Nigeria#First generation universities, first generation universities in ...

and was appointed the director of the centre for cultural studies in 1983. She retired from the university in 1991. She met

John Pepper Clark John Pepper Clark-Bekederemo (6 April 1935 – 13 October 2020) was a Nigerian poet and playwright. He popularly published as J. P. Clark and John Pepper Clark. Life Born in Kiagbodo, Nigeria, to an Ijaw father and Urhobo mother, Clark was a di ...

, a Nigerian poet who was then a research fellow at the Institute of African Studies of the University of Ibadan while she was lecturing at the School of Drama. They married on 4 April 1964 in a low key ceremony in Cotonu,

Benin Republic Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

. Her family stood against her marriage to JP Clark because of ethnic differences as she was Ijebu from southwestern Nigeria while he was

Ijaw Ijaw may refer to: *Ijaw people The Ijaw people, also known as the Izon people, are an ethnic group found in the Niger Delta region in Nigeria, with primary Population, population clusters in Bayelsa State, Bayelsa, Delta State, Delta, and River ...

from the

Niger-Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitic ...

. On account of this, they

eloped Elopement is a marriage which is conducted in a sudden and secretive fashion, sometimes involving a hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting married without parental approval. A ...

in Cotonu. Her research around

Hubert Ogunde Chief Hubert Adedeji Ogunde D.Lit. (; 10 July 1916 – 4 April 1990) was a Nigerian actor, playwright, theatre manager, and musician who founded the first contemporary professional theatrical company in Nigeria, the African Music Research Pa ...

and his work was sponsored by the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

. She cofounded PEC Reparatory Theatre in 1982 in Lagos with JP Clark.

Bibliography

* ''Hubert Ogunde: The Making of the Nigerian Theatre'' (1979)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Ebun Academic staff of the University of Lagos Living people Academic staff of the University of Ibadan Year of birth missing (living people)