Midnight as a Metaphor in Osofisan’s Selected Plays

Abstract: This article explores the thematic and stylistic elements that unify Femi Osofisan’s three plays—Midnight Hotel (1985), The Album of the Midnight Blackout (1994), and Fiddlers on a Midnight Lark (2006)—as a trilogy despite the playwright not explicitly categorizing them as such. Through an in-depth analysis of the motif of “midnight” and the omnipresent “Petronaira Band,” this study provides insight into how these elements serve as metaphors for economic and political transgressions, sexual decadence, and religious and scientific charlatanism. The implications of these findings contribute significantly to the understanding of Nigerian socio-political critique in contemporary drama.