Elijah Kolawole Ogunmola (11 November 1925 – 1973) was a Nigerian dramatist, actor, mime, director, and playwright. Ogunmola is also regarded as one of the most brilliant actors in Africa in the 1950s and ’60s. He developed Yoruba culture, especially folk opera (drama that combines Christian themes with traditional Yoruba folklore, music and dancing, and music popular in urban culture) into a serious theatre form through his work with his (founded c. 1948). They produced an early stage musical version of Amos Tutuola's The Palm Wine Drinkard, which was performed at the (Algiers, 1969).