By
Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted 8 May 2019 for 11 May)
How many men
do we know who find themselves in the same dire predicament as Joseph (Nick
Kwach).
He lost his
job eight months back and fears telling his wife Brenda about it. Instead, he
lies to her and everyone else. But with his few business prospects having
flopped, his savings dried up, the bills piling high, Joe looks like he’s
nearly come to the end of his rope.
He owes the
landlady, the house maid Eunice and various other Shylocks. Meanwhile, he’d
lent a bundle to someone who’d promised to pay back but instead, disappeared.
What makes
things worse is his uppity wife who detects there’s something fishy about her
hubby’s behavior, but she doesn’t know what. She suspects it’s another woman. So
when she accuses him of having a second wife, he doesn’t deny it quick enough. Instead,
he says “I confess…’, not completing the sentence since that’s enough to
trigger her jumping the gun and concluding she was correct. She fumes, fusses
and finally walks out.
Now he’s
seriously desperate. It doesn’t help when Zebediah (Victor Nyaata), the landlady’s
messenger comes for the rent. Knowing he’s not going to get it, this wily
peasant has secretly put Nick’s flat online for rent at a much higher price
than the landlady asks. In any case, she doesn’t know and neither does Nick
until a Stranger (Cyprian Osoro) shows up with a bag of cash, ready to book
Nick’s flat there and then.
Once Nick’s
figures out the Stranger’s intent and sees six-months’ worth of rent plus
deposit money in the bag, Nick can’t resist. He pretends to be the landlord and
takes the cash as if it’s manna from heaven.
All hell
breaks loose after that. First the Stranger’s wife shows up, followed
thereafter by Brenda who is now prepared to forgive her spouse. But before he
has a chance to explain the Strangers who have already moved into their
bedroom, a cop shows up and the jig is up!
It turns out
the Stranger is actually a big-time crook who’s got a warrant out for his
arrest. He not only forges money; he also launders the fake stuff.
Obviously,
the cash the Stranger has handed Joe is fake, but Joe still tries to defend the
Stranger. The cop picks up on Joe’s allegiance to the crook and assumes he must
be an accomplice to the crook’s crimes.
This means Joe
will go to jail along side the Stranger. But he doesn’t mind since he sees it
as a form of justice. Besides, he’s got nothing better to do.
It’s a stark
finale, especially since Joe is just a good guy who’s down on his luck. Nick
Kwach does a good job blending humor and pathos and making you feel from the outset
that Joe may be a charmer but he is also a desperate man.
Like so many
poor people who feel they have no recourse other than resorting to crime as the
most basic survival tactic, Joe gets caught before he even gets a chance to make
amends.
Heartstrings
may not look like they produce political theatre, but definitely ‘Odd One Out’
is a critical comment on the current economic conditions in Kenya where
millions are jobless and needing hope for how to make a productive life for
themselves..
In the end,
Joe tells Brenda he lost his job many months ago but didn’t dare tell her. She
now claims she’ll support him no matter what. But sadly, that is easier to say
now that he is on the way out the door.
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