Dream of a Nation
Dream of a Nation is a mythic, satirical epic chronicling the rise and fall of an African kingdom confronted by colonialism. Blending folklore, prophecy, and political allegory, it follows three royal siblings fated to battle a mysterious “Thing” as a white missionary arrives—bringing both salvation and destruction.
Title: Dream of a Nation
Author: Ery Nzaramba
Format: Stage Play
Structure: A tale in three books
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Synopsis
Dream of a Nation is a rich, genre-blending theatrical epic that draws from African oral traditions, folklore, satire, and political allegory to chart the rise, fall, and spiritual haunting of the fictional kingdom of Rugali. The story unfolds through the voice of a Griot—a traditional storyteller—who weaves history and myth together into a multi-generational, cyclical tale of identity, legacy, betrayal, and resistance.
The play opens with the birth of Abiru, cursed by her aunt—a bitter, childless witch—to grow up parentless and die without children, unless she can find a mythical "double-headed seed." Years later, three key figures emerge in the kingdom: the fierce warrior Rutare, the cunning hunter Mugezi, and the wistful outcast Kayaga. Unknown to them, all three are secretly sons of Mwami Kigeli, the king of Rugali.
While Rutare and Mugezi venture into the forbidden “Forest of the Dead” seeking to lift a curse afflicting the land, they meet Abiru, now a powerful diviner. She reveals their royal lineage, their fated battle against a mysterious, inhuman threat called “The Thing,” and a prophecy that they will die childless unless united—by marriage to her. The Mwami consents, and the trio return to the kingdom, now seemingly protected by love and destiny.
However, the arrival of a European missionary-explorer—referred to only as “Muzungu” (white man)—marks a pivotal turn. Kayaga, returning from abroad, introduces Muzungu to the court. Speaking of progress, liberty, and God, the missionary’s honeyed words mask a sinister colonial agenda. Slowly but deftly, he infiltrates the kingdom’s spiritual, political, and cultural foundations.
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Despite initial skepticism, Mugezi is seduced by Muzungu’s gospel, eventually betraying the old ways. Rutare, in contrast, resists fiercely but is assassinated—his death disguised as fate. Abiru, devastated, miscarries and flees. Meanwhile, Muzungu baptizes Mugezi, renaming him Charles Leon Peter, and converts Rugali into a colony. Rubber extraction, forced labor, class stratification, and cultural erasure ensue, enforced by brutality and bureaucratic manipulation.
Yet even in colonized Rugali, resistance simmers. Abiru resurrects Rutare in secret, under a false identity, with a chance to redeem the kingdom. As Muzungu rewrites history, installs schools, divides society into “Kozis” and “Rengas,” and drives a wedge between faith and tradition, the stage is set for a final reckoning. The play leaves us in a space of both mourning and hope—a fractured, colonized land still dreaming of sovereignty, waiting to awaken
"we were captivated by your story and the way you chose to tell it. we simply found ourselves wanting more (...) your conceit of paralleling real historical events, but in the register of mythology, is really fascinating and well-executed."
- gillian greer, senior reader, national theatre
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