Abu Sense and Bryan Ngartia won a Sanaa Theatre award for Too Early for Birds
By Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted 5 December 2018)
(originally posted from US, Wilmette after watching it on YouTube in January 2018)
At last a
first class original Kenyan production that grabs the meaty drama of the
country’s recent history and turns it into brilliant theatre.
‘Too early
for birds’ is a production that deserves to return tonight to the Kenya
National Theatre where just a few nights ago, it practically brought the house
down, so well received it was by the hefty house-full crowd.
Clearly the
word had spread among a new generation of enthusiastic theatre-goers beforehand
that Ngartia’s and Abu Sense’s hybrid production was something very special to
see.
It’s a show
that combines snappy stand-up storytelling with hip-hop and slam-styled poetry,
R&B and a range of revolutionary moments in Kenya’s recent history.
‘Too early
for birds’ is a cryptic title for a play about war. Not war in the sense of
World War 2; but maybe more like an anti-colonial struggle waged at the
cultural level against dictatorial power that aimed to crush all political, social
and even religious dissent.
Remarkably,
the show is largely carried by a single storyteller who also happens to be the
scriptwriter and slam-poet who goes by the name of Ngartia. He’s magnetic from
the moment he steps on a stage that is vast, but which his spirited performance
commands.
Ngartia’s
enthusiasm for his story and soulful subject matter is both electrifying and
infectious. So much so that it doesn’t take him a tug to draw in his audience
to chant along right in time and at his tempo as he makes powerful points and
motions his audience to concur, which they joyfully do.
He’s
energized by the story of a great man, a living legend and authentic Kenyan
hero, Dr. Rev. Timothy Njoya.
The story
isn’t a like a boring biographical history of the man. Instead, it zooms in on
turning points in our recent past. Specifically, it’s the 1990’s at a time when
rumors abound that fellow Kenyans (critics of the government) were either
fleeing the country or getting grabbed and detained.
And then,
there were the Mothers who confirmed the rumors with their lives. The Mothers
of Political Prisoners were passionate about getting their sons out of prisons
and detention holes that were said to be torture centre.
The Mothers
play an integral part of the true story. So does Nobel prizing-winning Kenyan
Professor the late Wangari Maathai. But “Too Early for birds’ focuses on Rev.
Njoya who, like Wangari, enduring life-threatening beatings.
Wangari also
nearly lost her life at the time standing and marching to the place that has
since been christened Freedom Corner. But Rev. Njoya was beaten bloody not just
once but several times and he never relented.
His
resistance inspired and propelled a movement that eventually was able to bring
the dictator down. What was beautiful about the play was also the way the
storyteller could morph and become other charters to help dramatize key moments
that further served to illustrate how dramatic those moments in Kenya’s recent
history really were.
“Too early
for birds’ is a show not to be missed. First staged by the wider public (it
might have had smaller show-casings) at this year’s Storymoja Festival, we are
fortunate both that Ngartia and Abu Sense listened to their fans and brought
the show back on stage.
What I also
appreciate is that the producers shared the view that getting a video of the
show out on YouTube would only enhance, not diminish audience attendance. For
instance, I unfortunately could not get to the earlier KNT productions but I
did manage to see the show on YouTube. And while I’d have loved for the cameras
to zoom in a bit closer occasionally, the cinematography was sufficient to
confirm that ‘Too early for Birds’ local theatre lovers need to go and see.
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