“The Half-God of Rainfall” is populated by gods: the rulers of Mount Olympus from Greek mythology, Yoruba deities from West Africa, the basketball gods of the NBA. But actor Jason Bowen explains that “The Half-God of Rainfall” is more concerned with humanity than the divine.

“It’s about the intersection of Grecian gods and Yoruba gods out of Nigeria, who will sometimes war against each other so you have a story of an epic nature,” Bowen told the Herald. “But then you have a demigod who is birthed as a result of an assault by Zeus. That demigod grows up and has an internal conflict about the nature of his being… Vengeance comes into play, so does hubris, so does the nature of family, so does healing.”

“And then, on top of all this you, you have basketball,” he added with a laugh.

There’s a lot going on in “The Half-God of Rainfall,” which runs from Sept. 8 to Sept. 24 at the American Repertory Theater. But deftly unpacking complex stories and equally complex emotions is a specialty of playwright Inua Ellams — the author’s 2018 play at the ART, “Barber Shop Chronicles,”  covered deception, betrayal, honestly and little flashes of reconciliation at set in barber shops across Africa and one in London.

In “The Half-God of Rainfall,” Ellams synthesizes his own experiences on the court and his youth in Nigeria, England and Ireland with a story about Demi — half Greek god, half Nigerian mortal — who grabs the attention of two pantheons with this journey from Nigeria to the NBA playoffs. Along the way, it explores colonialism and masculinity, sexual assault and female empowerment.

While explaining the piece, Bowen, who plays Yoruba god of thunder and lightning Sàngó, makes sure to highlight both the grand scale of the tale and its earthly and intimate concerns.

“It feels like something that parallels the ‘Odyssey’ or something of that nature,” Bowen said. “But these characters that seem larger than life, at the end of the day, they’re still dealing with human conflicts. Even in my limited knowledge of Greek mythology from elementary school, I remember their human qualities. They’re still jealous, they still love, they still lust.”

Bowen spent plenty of time digging into the history of Yoruba orishas, or godly spirits. In his role as Sàngó, Bowen wanted to make sure to honor the Yoruba culture with a dynamic performance informed by research. He didn’t need to spend much time on the basketball part of the narrative.

A longtime Boston actor, Bowen rose through the local theater scene in productions with the Actors Shakespeare Project, graduating to other companies, and eventually won great acclaim for his performance in 2012’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” at the Huntington. He’s spent the last few years working out of New York City but still lives-and-dies with the Celtics.

“I bleed green and grew up playing basketball, played in high school, so that part of the production was really seamless for me,” he said.

It’s good to hear that something was simple for Bowen because so much of “The Half-God of Rainfall” is a world away. And yet, of course, it’s all universally human too.

For details and tickets, visit americanrepertorytheater.org