What is The Wild Kingdoms?

 

In a world ruled by a family of feuding spirits the choices of one boy will change the destiny of heaven and earth.

The Wild Kingdoms is a series of stories set in a world of divine spirits, humankind and animals. It is based on the mythology, legend and folklore of the Yoruba people of Nigeria and has been over 14 years in the making. During its development The Wild Kingdoms has been re.imagined as musical theatre, an online trading card game, a short film and a physical card game.  Despite all the incarnations though it remains one thing…

“A versified tale brief in telling, of births, deaths, mankind’s swelling kingdoms
Spiritual complications, love, betrayal and warring nations”

This site contains parts of the story, illustrations, text and sounds from the first part of of the series: The Battle of the Wordsmiths. The site has been designed so that the story can be “explored” as opposed to “read”. We hope you enjoy the journey.

Anuj Agarwal of Suryasta Media at the Frankfurt Bookfair 2012. Suryastra are the publisher of The Battle of the Wordsmiths which is due to launch shortly in e-book and other formats.

Anuj Agarwal (r) of Suryastra at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Suryastra are the publisher of The Battle of the Wordsmiths which is due to launch in e-book and other formats.

Joanne Nethercott, illustrator and visual designer for The Wild Kingdoms. Her work has included traditional book illustration, poster design, trading cards and costumes for action figures.

 

The People Involved

 

A project of this scale requires a lot of different talents and personalities to stay alive.The people here have either worked directly on different parts of the project, or been a source of support and inspiration in other ways.

 

 

 

Jörg Spanjer (l) and Sigrid Busch (m) co-creators of The Battle of the Wordsmiths trading card game.  As well as  the game they set up an exhibition of the original artwork at their shop Tabula Magica ib Varel, Germany.

Jörg Spanjer (l) and Sigrid Busch (m) co-creators of The Battle of the Wordsmiths trading card game. As well as the game they set up an exhibition of the original artwork at their shop Tabula Magica in Varel, Germany.

Eugene Skeef (l), Ibukun Olatunji (m), Rob Taylor (r) at the Serpentine Gallery London as part of the PRS New Music Award 2010 for which The Battle of the Wordsmiths was shortlisted.

 

Martin Trotman, composer of the music for the Midlands Arts Centre performance of The Battle of the Wordsmiths. You can hear parts of his music under “Listen”

 

Ibukun Olatunji, Creator and Creative Director of The Wild Kingdoms. As well as writing the core stories his work on the project covers website design, online and physical game design, song writing and theatre direction.

 

Some of the cast and crew from the musical adaptation of The Battle of the Wordsmiths performed at the Midland Arts Centre in Birmingham in 2012.

 

Eugene Skeef, FRSA, composer and co-director of the musical adaptation of The Battle of the Wordsmiths. Eugene is a percussionist, composer, poet, educationalist. His roots are firmly established in his cultural work with Steve Biko, the late South African civil rights leader. As a young activist Eugene co-led a nation-wide literacy campaign teaching in schools, colleges and communities across apartheid South Africa.

Eugene Skeef, FRSA, composer and co-director of the musical adaptation of The Battle of the Wordsmiths. Eugene is a percussionist, composer, poet, educationalist. His roots are firmly established in his cultural work with Steve Biko, the late South African civil rights leader. As a young activist Eugene co-led a nation-wide literacy campaign teaching in schools, colleges and communities across apartheid South Africa.

Rob Taylor, Producer at Blue Hippo Media.  Blue Hippo are lead producers of the musical adaptation of The Battle of the Wordsmiths. has a background of almost 25 years in the creative industries including tour and stage management, concert promotion, and artist management. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts and Chair of Punch Records, a major player in the world of Black and Asian music, art and street performance.

Rob Taylor, Producer at Blue Hippo Media. Blue Hippo are lead producers of the musical adaptation of The Battle of the Wordsmiths. has a background of almost 25 years in the creative industries including tour and stage management, concert promotion, and artist management. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts and Chair of Punch Records, a major player in the world of Black and Asian music, art and street performance.

Pip Piper, Producer at Blue Hippo Media. Pip's  passion is to discover and tell compelling stories’, develop and work with great talent and to create films that communicate with impact to audiences far and wide. .

Pip Piper, Producer at Blue Hippo Media. Pip’s passion is to discover and tell compelling stories’, develop and work with great talent and to create films that communicate with impact to audiences far and wide. .

Tijan “Kingpin” Sallah rapper and performer for the musical adaptation of The Battle of the Wordsmiths. As well as being a solp artist he is also a member of the Caxton Press collective who recently supported Public Enemy.

 

Zara Sykes. Narrator in the musical adaptation of The Battle of the Wordsmiths performed at the mac in 2012.

Zara Sykes. Narrator in the musical adaptation of The Battle of the Wordsmiths performed at the mac in 2012.

Sonia Indigo lead vocalist and arranger for the Midland Arts Centre performance of The Battle of the Wordsmiths.

 

Faith SFX, beatboxer. Part of the team for the PRS New Music Award entry for The Battle of the Wordsmiths. He can he heard performing with the rapper Kingpin in the “Listen” section of the site.

 

 

Nick Tarte is a freelance motion director/animator and he created the trailer for The Battle of the Wordsmiths.

Nick Tarte is a freelance motion director/animator and he created the trailer for The Battle of the Wordsmiths.

 

 

 

 

 

Juice Aleem, rapper. played the part of The Boy in the Midland Arts Centre performance of The Battle of the Wordsmiths.

 

Marco Wehe is a motion designer and effects artist working in London. He is also the creator of Phox, a wireless event photobox

 

 

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Tapio bubbles

Tapio Liukkonen, Sound Designer. Tapio created the audio effects for the online trading card game. In the photo he is searching for the perfect recording of a bubble.

 

Thomas Daly is a freelance website developer and has also worked in television production, sound, editing and live operations.  He is a graduate of University College London (BSc Electronic Engineering with Computer Science) , and Middlesex University (MSc in Internet Application Development).

T. C. Daly is a freelance website developer and has also worked in television production, sound, editing and live operations. He is a graduate of University College London (BSc Electronic Engineering with Computer Science) , and Middlesex University (MSc in Internet Application Development).

Lois Adams worked on set designs for a musical adaptation of The Battle of the Wordsmiths. She has a zeal for innovative set design and has worked on interactive museum exhibits, exhibitions, stage and film. In 2009 she gained a first class honors degree in Set Design for Stage and Screen from the University of Arts London, Wimbledon.

Mathew Moore is the composer of the orchestral version of The Word Garden (performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra).  The Word Garden is a story first heard  at The Lexical Trade Point; a market where words, phrases and stories are bought and sold. Mathew is a multi-talented composer, performer and recording engineer.  As a jazz musician he has played all over Europe and as a composer he has written for the London Philharmonic Orchestra and A&C Black.