ADAPTING SOYINKA: A COMPARATIVE EXAMINATION OF THE 2022 FILM VERSION BY BIYI BAMIDELE AND TAWIAH M’CARTHY’S STAGE PERFORMANCE OF DEATH AND THE KING’S HORSEMAN

ABSTRACT Adaptation is the process through which a story moves from one form to another, reshaping meaning and cultural expression while preserving the identity of the original work. Severals scholars have discourse adaptation from playtext to film production. However This study seem to investigate the comparison of Tawiah M’carthy’s stage performance and Biyi Bandele’s 2022 film adaptation of Death and the King’s Horseman. This study focuses on how Death and the King’s Horseman has has been adapted from stage to screen focusing on the interpretation and transformation of meaning, performance, and Yoruba cultural elements. It seeks to explore how each medium present setting characteristics rituals scene and spiritual world few. This study focus on adaptation theory and it adopt a qualitative research method while analyzing the interpretation and rhythm of selected themes. A scene-by-scene and figure-by-figure comparison was conducted, The study concludes that stage and screen complement each other: the stage preserves symbolic and ritual qualities, while the screen enhances accessibility and sensory engagement. Together, they demonstrate how adaptation can preserve cultural integrity while reshaping audience experience, contributing to scholarship on African performance and adaptation studies. Keywords: Adaptation, stage performance, film, Yoruba , cultural preservation