Sam Ukala (1948–2021) was described as a 'great literary icon'. He was a Nigerian playwright, poet, short story writer, actor, theatre director, film producer and academic. Professional life Sam Ukala was a Professor of Theatre Arts and Drama at Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria. Ukala was also Professor of Drama and Theatre Arts at a number of Nigerian universities, including Edo State University. In 1993/94, as a Commonwealth academic staff fellow, he also researched and taught at the School of English Workshop Theatre of the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. As an academic, he propounded the theory of 'folkism', the tendency to base literary plays on indigenous history and culture and to compose and perform them in accordance with the aesthetics of African folktale composition and performance. He was Chairman of the Delta State Chapter of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) 2021. Writings Ukala's published plays include The Slave Wife, The Log in Your Eye, Akpakaland (winner of the 1989 ANA/British Council Prize for Drama), Break a Boil and Placenta of Death. His Iredi War, a 'folk script', won the 2014 Nigeria prize for Literature. It is based on the 1906 uprising of the Owa Kingdom (now part of Delta State) against oppressive British rule. As in previous pieces, he utilizes and brings new life to oral literature and folk-based theatre forms. "A convincing blend of history and fiction..." Kester Echenim. Ukala has also worked with the British theatre Horse and Bamboo Theatre in 1998/9 and with Bob Frith wrote the visual theatre piece Harvest of Ghosts, which toured the UK and the Netherlands. This was an experimental piece for Ukala, which relied on dance, music, and powerful visuals rather than the spoken word. Professor Martin Banham, joint editor of African Theatre: Playwrights & Politics, considered it a 'dynamic fusion of inter-cultural skills', and a 'striking, accessible', example of political theatre. He felt the play deserved a production in Africa and, eventually, Sam Ukala did create a version at Edo State University in Ekpoma. Folkism Ukala developed an approach to theatre that he pioneered in his own dramatic writings. He called this 'folkism', and explored the concept further in his academic work. 'Folkism' grew from his belief in the necessity of decolonization in theatre, and the desire to explore African traditional standards of beauty and dramatic balance. In the construction of his plays he draws on an