Written by Benison Christopher, Ojirami: The Weeping River brings ancestral myth to life with power and urgency rarely seen in contemporary drama. It is a story that explores what is lost when pride erases reverence and when rituals are forgotten. Audiences will recognise themselves in Ekpen’s ambition, Ureshemi’s quiet strength and the goddess’s relentless demand for balance. This is not just a play to read; it is a cultural reckoning to experience.
Ojirami: The Weeping River is the latest work from Nigerian writer and cultural entrepreneur Benison Christopher, a play that transforms ancestral legend into urgent contemporary drama. Inspired by the sacred Ojirami River in Edo State, Nigeria, it tells of Ekpen, a proud young man whose ambition disturbs the delicate balance between the human and the divine. As forgotten rituals resurface and the once-patient goddess rises in anger, the play asks a haunting question: when the river weeps, who will kneel?
Christopher writes with lyrical intensity, blending satire, spiritual tension and cultural resonance into a story that feels both timeless and immediate. Ekpen’s conceit, Ureshemi’s quiet strength and the goddess’s sweeping reckoning echo wider conflicts of migration, pride and moral erosion that shape lives far beyond the village. The drama does not simply retell a myth; it reimagines it as a mirror for today’s struggles with faith, identity and memory.
That same commitment to truth and empathy shapes Christopher’s short story collection ‘A Place Without Heroes’. Set in Nigeria yet resonating far beyond its borders, the book illuminates ordinary lives tested by extraordinary pressures: a wife confronting betrayal, a bank operations manager trapped in the chaos of an armed robbery, a man carrying the lifelong ache of unrequited love. Where Ojirami draws on ancestral myth, A Place Without Heroes captures the courage demanded by everyday survival.
Synopsis:
Ojirami: The Weeping River is a gripping play drawn from the ancestral legend of the sacred Ojirami River in Edo State, Nigeria. Woven with satire, spiritual tension, and cultural resonance, it tells the story of a village unsettled by pride and forgetfulness, where one man’s ambition stirs the anger of a once-patient river goddess.
As reverence fades and personal desires rise, forgotten rituals call out to be remembered — and the line between the living and the unseen begins to dissolve.
At the heart of the tale is Ekpen, a proud and restless young man whose conceit and selfish ambition set in motion a chain of events that disturbs the delicate balance between the physical and the spiritual. Ureshemi, by contrast, brings emotional depth and moral weight to the unfolding drama through her quiet strength and growing convictions.
As betrayal festers and moral boundaries erode, the goddess Ojirami — once revered, now provoked — rises from silence. Her response is more than supernatural; it is sacred and sweeping, reshaping destinies and demanding a return to all that was once held in reverence.
Ojirami: The Weeping River is a lyrical and devastatingly beautiful play about migration, love, pride, and spiritual imbalance. Written with aching truth, it asks one timeless question:
When the river weeps… who will kneel?
“’Ojirami: The Weeping River’ began as an ancestral tale told in whispers, and I wanted to give it new life on the page and on the stage,” says Benison Christopher.
Continuing, “The story of Ekpen and the goddess is not only about a river — it is about the dangers of forgetting who we are and what we owe to our communities. My short stories in A Place Without Heroes carry the same spirit, proving that ordinary struggles can be as profound as myth. Whether it is a woman confronting betrayal or a man facing danger in a bank, I am drawn to how ordinary people bear extraordinary burdens. These works belong together: one rooted in myth, the other in contemporary life — both insisting on courage, reverence, and resilience.”
Benison Christopher’s work is not just literature but a cultural intervention. Ojirami: The Weeping River stands out as one of the most compelling new African plays in recent years, while A Place Without Heroes affirms her gift for portraying the struggles of everyday life with honesty and depth.
About the Author:
Benison Christopher is a Nigerian writer, playwright, and cultural entrepreneur whose work bridges art and social impact. She is the founder of The Benison Christopher Company and AfroNarrate, platforms dedicated to amplifying African stories, funding creative projects, and empowering under-represented voices through literature and performance.
Born in Nigeria and now based in the UK, Benison holds a BA in English and Literature from the University of Benin and an MSc (with Distinction) in IT Project Management from Teesside University. Her multidisciplinary writing spans novels, short stories, plays, poetry, and film scripts, often exploring themes of migration, identity, resilience, and cultural memory.
Her published works include A Place Without Heroes, a collection of short stories, and Ojirami: The Weeping River, a play that fuses ancestral legend with contemporary realities. Through her creative ventures, Benison transforms personal and collective histories into storytelling that resonates across borders.
With a leadership philosophy shaped by lived experience, she positions storytelling not only as art but also as a catalyst for healing, empowerment, and social change.