LWANDA MAGERE REMADE AS A MODERN SUPER-HERO

By Margaretta wa Gacheru (Posted 19 June 2019)

Everything about ‘Lwanda Rockman’, the new Chatterbox Collective production scripted and directed by JJ Jumbi, is a grand spectacle.

From the posters designed by Osborne Macharia to the costuming and make-up that blends ancient legend with post-modern sci-fi to the Afro-jazz band and chorus, the choreography and electrically-charged dancers to the dazzling cast, all are bold and keen to grab your rapt attention, which they do.

From the moment the dancers jump out on stage and the band begins its funky jazz sound, you know you are in for something special. But don’t expect this Lwanda to follow the traditional tale to a ‘T’. It’s ‘flawed’ if you expect the same old Luo story to be told.

JJ injects so much modernity into his musical that one needs to be attuned to shows like ‘American Idol,’ ‘The Bachelor’ and even ‘The Voice’, all Western imports, but competitions that rhyme with the kind of tale this Rockman relates.

For this Lwanda (Xavier Ywaya) is still a super-star, still a military master who’s revered by all, but who still has dangerous enemies out to finish him off with the most potent of all weapons, a woman’s charm and feigned love. That’s the way the original story begins, but then our Lwanda is single and searching for someone to love.

The master Wedding Planner Lady Medusa (Lucy Wache) is enlisted to fix all that. She sets up the competition of adoring women who’ll fight tooth and nail to get their claws into the king of might. But only three finalists have a shot. They are Athola (Akinyi Oluoch), Atipa (Auudi Rowa) and Aliya (Doanna Owano). Yet however beautiful and gifted they are, none of them excites either Medusa or Lwanda.

But a mysterious ‘fourth contestant’ Chichi (Nyawira Alison) pops up out of ‘nowhere’ with so much charm, sensuality, beauty and immediacy that she quickly captures Lwanda’s heart. The man’s been conquered in no time flat!

Little does he know that Chichi’s a spy for the other side or that her first love is for Konte (Justin Mirichii). Her motive for bringing Lwanda down is revenge for his slaughter of her father.

In this conflict, the challenge is not on the battle field but in hearts and minds of the women, the first one being Chichi who accidentally fall for Lwanda and is clearly torn between Konte and him. It’s a classic love triangle, but to be deemed a traitor not just to her lover but to the people she’s promised to finish him for, is the dilemma Chichi must resolve.

But the other ‘battle’ Lwanda faces comes from the women rejected in the contest. They organize an angry protest against him and the foreigner who not only stole ‘their man’. She transformed him into a ‘traitor’ by making him choose her over them.

So we see the power balance shift to the side of the women. The three get him demoted and thoroughly demoralized. It’s for Chichi to console him, but the timing is bad. That’s right after she’s met secretly with Konte and promised to be true to their course.

We don’t actually see Lwanda tell Chichi the secret to his invincibility, but the inevitable happens nonetheless.

We don’t want to be a spoiler but most people know the story of Lwanda (just like Samson with Delilah in the Bible) and the woman bringing his downfall.

My one qualm with ‘Lwanda Rockman’ is with the ending which I pray the director might consider fixing. It’s the last scene and there are three centres of attention on a darkened stage. We need the dark so that a spotlight can create the shadow required for Konte to perform the dire deed. But the spotlight wasn’t there, or if it was, it wasn’t bright enough to easily expose Lwanda’s silhouette.

It may sound like a fussy point but it matters. Also the speed of the ending was so fast that it lost an element of drama, namely the pathos we should have felt when we heard Chichi wailing for her lost love. I couldn’t see her from my vantage point and that might not matter, but since she essentially has the last word with her tears, her prominent presence might make the ending a bit more poignant and painfully tragic.

FOOD AS A DELICIOUS ART AND SPECTACLE

By Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted 19 june 2019)

It was an evening billed as ‘Eat Art’ at Radisson Blu Hotel, featuring the artworks of Rosemary Karuga, Sane Wadu and Charles Sekano.

But the radiant artist of the night was the Hotel’s Executive Chef Wissem Abdellatif. He’s the one, together with his army of kitchen staff, who cooked for guests specially invited by Circle Art and the Hotel to enjoy a sumptuous five-course meal complete with a different wine served with every course.

Even the grand finale of the night, a surprise dessert, choreographed and performed by Wissem and Sane Wadu accompanied by several of the swift-footed kitchen crew, was paired with a first-class South African wine provided by Viva Global Ltd.

Being a teetotaler, I couldn’t say whether the pairing was perfect. But as I sat with two wine connoisseurs, I was assured that all the wines, be they white, red or rose were outstanding, having come from one of the most exclusive wineries, Boschendal, situated just near Cape Town.

But even though I didn’t imbibe the wine, I delighted in the attentive service provided as the staff played an integral role in the evening’s performance. So did Chef Wissem who came around often to see if we were enjoying the dishes he’d especially prepared for the night. Those included the Mombasa red snapper, glazed duck breast, Medallion of lobster tail, Molo lamb ‘coated in 100% dark chocolate, cashew nut and chili essence’ and ‘21-day aged Josper fired beef fillet’!

The menu itself was a feast to read as Chef Wissem was confident enough in his culinary skills to disclose key ingredients used in the preparation of the meat in every course. He was also mindful of the vegetarians who’d come to dine since he had alternative dishes for every course which were just as exquisitely presented and delicious as the carnivores’.

But again, it was the presentation as much as the amazing food that troops from the kitchen brought in timely style that kept every table in the Chophouse dining room in constant awe.

Honestly, each dish was dazzling. For instance, the beetroot risotto that was made to gracefully encircle the glazed duck breast was sprinkled with green raw mango spaghetti (of all things!). Then the vinaigrette dressing was laced with sake, that potent Japanese liqueur sure to knock you off your feet but for its being diluted by ‘black ink’. And even the gelato (Italian ice cream) was spiked with tequila. But again, Chef Wissem was mindful of the teetotalers who didn’t want to get tipsy. He had a separate gelato and different dressing for those who preferred no alcohol.

In any case, no spirit or hard drink was meant to deflect attention from the wines which the waiters regularly served together with elegant glass goblets which were consistently filled and topped up.

But while we were all literally eating our art, there were paintings on hand strategically placed just behind the serving area and ‘stage’ where Chef Wissem and Sane were getting set to perform the grand finale of the night. Everyone had an opportunity to make the rounds in the dining room to see Rosemary’s lovely paper collages as well as Sane’s and Sekano’s portraits of everyday rural life. But frankly each table was reserved so we needed time to find our prescribed seats, all of which were extremely cozy, comfortable and compatible with a leisurely night out.

For me, the most memorable serving (practically tied with the lobster tail and red snapper) was the Molo lamb unbelievably coated in dark chocolate which had been blended with chili essence and cashew chips. Chef Wissem passed our table just as the lamb was being served and we asked him what to expect? He told us, “First the chocolate will melt and then you will feel the heat come after that.” And he was correct. Initially, the hot chili was undetected but after a few moments, wham! The kick hit the back of your throat. It wasn’t painful by any means, just startling and enhancing the memory of the evening.

But without doubt, it was Wissem’s and Sane’s improvised performance as they dashed up and down a long serving table that capped off the night with a super-sweet spectacle. Everything from chocolate sauce and raspberry jam to macaroon cakes and chocolate mousse got splashed and swirled around that long table as the guests gawked, amazed that they were meant to now eat this masterful work of food art.

FIRST INDIAN FILM FETE SET FOR AUGUST

By Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted 18 June 2019)

Heralding a new era of Indian-Kenyan cooperation, the High Commissioner of India to Kenya, H.E. Rahul Chhabra announced the first ever Indian Film Festival would be held in Kenya coincidentally with celebrations of India’s Independence Day from August 10^th to 16^th.

The Festival will feature six films by Indian filmmakers, one of which is by the Kenyan writer and producer of the award-winning film, ‘Subira’, Sippy Chadha. The other five will include Bollywood and Indian regional films.

“As we understand a number of Indians in Kenya come from either Gujarat or Punjab, we will bring one from each region and three from Bollywood,” said Festival’s curator, Captain Rahul Bali.

Noting that most people think Indian films are only made in Bollywood, Capt. Bali said the Indian film industry is much bigger than that. There are many regional film groups as well.

“In fact, we have the biggest film industry in the world. On average, one Indian film is produced every day,” he said.

The High Commissioner added that due to the success of Bollywood, Indian filmmakers have managed to shoot films all over the world. From Switzerland and Spain to Australia and Holland, such settings have stimulated wide interest among Indian viewers, many of whom become tourists visiting any or all of those countries.

Both Mr Chhabra and Capt. Rali praised Kenya for its potential to become a favored destination for Indian filmmakers. They added they would love to see Kenyan tourism grow through the influence of Indian movies that could be made in this country in future.

“Kenya already receives more than 120,000 Indian tourists every year. Kenyans come to India in large numbers as well,” said the High Commissioner, noting the film festival was not only about movies. “It’s also about tourism and trade.”

There will be a round-table conference during the Festival in which between seven and ten Indian filmmakers will interact with their Kenyan counterparts. That is when the concept of Kenyan-Indian cooperation in making films could begin.

Capt. Rali reinforced the view that Kenya can easily become a destination for Indian filmmakers. “One Indian film was made in Spain, and as soon as it was released, the Spanish tourism [online] portal actually crashed,” he said, highlighting the impact that film has on the Indian population.

He attributed Bollywood’s success to its being “a cinema of fantasy.” He added, “We sell dreams.”

NGUGI WA THIONG'O CELEBRATED AT 80

        Panel: (L-R) Willy Mutunga, Ngugi, Henry Chakava, Kimani Njogu, Ndirangu Wachanga and Simon Gikandi @ USIU

By Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted 17 June 2019)

Coming home to Kenya with two objectives in mind, Professor Ngugi wa Thiong’o fulfilled them both on Thursday afternoon at the United States International University.

USIU is where the award-winning poet, playwright, novelist and social critic belatedly celebrated his 80^th birthday. But equally important was his attending the launch of Ngugi: Reflections on his Life of Writing’, the brand-new anthology, compiled and edited by Professor Simon Gikandi of Princeton University in the US and Dr. Ndirangu Wachanga, a visiting lecturer at USIU.

                                                                                       Professor Ngugi wa Thiong'o

Prof. Gikandi, who had been Ngugi’s student in the 1970s at University of Nairobi and published a definitive work on Ngugi in 2000, explained the initial concept of the anthology was to commemorate and celebrate his former professor’s becoming an octogenarian. But then he and Wachanga realized they had opened up an opportunity for a multitude of friends, former colleagues and students of Ngugi to write about the impact he had made on their lives.

The stories, essays and poetry of more than 30 writers, critics, publishers and activists included in their book present a multifaceted picture of East Africa’s most acclaimed writer and the man described as “one of the world’s greatest writers” by USIU’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Paul Zeleza.

Several of those contributors attended the book launch and took part in a panel where they each described various ways in which Ngugi had influenced their lives. Among those on the panel were the former Chief Justice, Dr. Willie Mutungu, former chairman of East African Education Publishers, Dr Henry Chakava, CEO of Twaweza Communications, Dr. Kimani Njogu, literary scholar Dr Garnette Oluoch-Olunya, and the anthology’s editors, Prof Gikandi, the Robert Schirmer Professor of English at Princeton and archivist, journalist and lecturer at University of Wisconsin,  Dr. Wachanga.

                                                               Ngugi with his publisher, Dr Henry Chakava

Among the most moving panelists was Dr. Chakava who recalled the way Ngugi, once released from detention in the late 1970s had been refused re-employment at University of Nairobi.

“I gave him a desk at our [EAEP] offices, and it was there that Ngugi swore he would never write another novel in English, which he hasn’t,” Chakava said.

But following the panel, it was Ngugi who described how his publisher had risked his life when he agreed to publish ‘Devil on the Cross’ in Kikuyu. Chakava was nearly kidnapped and received numerous death threats. Nonetheless, he went on to publish several other of Ngugi’s novels, including Matagari (which the Kenya Government under President Moi banned) and Murogi wa Kagogo or Wizard of the Crow.

It was Dr Gikandi however who inumbrated several more spheres in which Ngugi had made an impact. While he and Dr Wachanga were compiling the book, he said they found Ngugi’s influence everywhere from literary culture, specifically post-colonial criticism to Kenya’s curriculum, publishing, diplomatic relations, politics and even Kenyan law.

                                           USIU students reciting Ngugi's poem 'Riddle of Love' in four languages

Ngugi’s influence on the role of language and its relationship to literature and culture was introduced early in the afternoon when several USIU students recited Ngugi’s poem ‘The Riddle of Love’ in Kikuyu, Amharic, Chinese and English.

When Ngugi lastly spoke, he underscored the point that “languages are like musical instruments. No instrument is ‘better’ than the other. Each has its own musicality. In the same way, no language is better than the other.”

He further noted that there’s nothing wrong with learning countless foreign languages, but if one isn’t conversant in their mother tongue, they are essentially cut off from their history, identity and culture.

Ngugi announced he is in the process of registering a foundation which will aim at promoting the writing in African languages.

He was accompanied by his wife Njeeri who like Ngugi, is on the faculty of University of California, Irvine. 

TRASH ART TRANSFORMING LIVES

By margaretta wa gacheru (posted 16 June 2019)

Joan Otieno has once again proved that she can not only turn ‘trash into treasure’, which is also the title of the current exhibition of artworks by Warembo Wasanii and her, the group’s founder and mama-mentor.

Joan can also train young women (and several men) to cultivate the same transformative power and prove it with an art exhibition that fills the whole ground floor of Alliance Francaise. It was also evident on the show’s opening night when the young (20-25 years old) Warembo women modeled their plastic fashions, all of which they had created themselves.

Yet Joan wasn’t just training tailors and seamstresses although she did teach them how to create their own designs and cut out their own patterns. She was teaching a growing squad of 14 young women and two men about conservation and how to save the planet from choking to death on the garbage human beings generate one plastic bag and bottle at a time.

She’s also training aspiring artists how to create their own art materials by going with her twice a week to dumpsites all over Eastlands where they get down to the dirty business of collecting all things plastic, be they bottles, bags, wrappers or spoons. They collect other forms of trash as well, such as Colgate toothpaste tubes which they take back to their WW studio in Kariobangi North (registered by Joan in 2018)

and clean along with all the other junk they pick up.

“Everything we use to create our art comes from the dumpsite,” says Joan [who’s gotten no donor support either to start or sustain her group]. The only exceptions are the tools that she buys, such as scissors, needles, threads, a hammer and slicer used to, for instance, cut open the Colgate tubes.

“After we wash the opened tubes, we hammer them flat, then stitch them together into fabric,” she adds, noting that one toothpaste tube dress was made and modeled in the fashion show on opening night.

Other dresses were made and modeled that night out of everything from Trust condom and Always sanitary pad wrappers to Naivas and Tusky bags to Blueband lids and Kabras sugar sacks.

Only one dress is currently on display at AF. It is the huge plastic bag gown that Joan created especially for the exhibition poster photo. “It’s called ‘Mother Nature Isn’t Happy’”, says Joan who had a special photo shoot with her standing inside on dumpsite, her face painted like a ghost. “I stood for the shoot, and people walked past me without even noticing me,” her bag dress blending in with the trash landscape. “But when I jumped up and made noise, people ran away, scared I was a monster or a ghost.”

Joan’s original plan was to train school girl dropouts, but as it is, all of her trainees are Form 4 graduates plus three university students. “The students come whenever they don’t have classes,” she says noting that currently, eight of her women come to the studio every day. They are Risper, Lorraine, Esther, Yvonne, Eddah, Rita, Aggie and Brenda. The rest come when they can since Joan puts no pressure on any of them. But she admits, one of her girls go pregnant soon after WW began.

“She created one of the [plastic bag] paintings before she went to deliver,” says Joan who adds that one reason she opened WW was to provide young women with a safe haven where they could learn new skills and not be vulnerable to the hazards women and girls can find on the streets.

At Alliance Francaise, most of the artworks are portraits made from the same materials as the dresses, including plastic soda bottles and party cups which get turned into fancy hair styles.

Before founding Warembo Wasanii, Joan was based at Dust Depo Art Studio where Patrick Mukabi was her mentor. And before that, she trained in accounting at the Kenya College of Accountancy.

“I had studied art in secondary school, planning on following in my father’s footsteps since he was a professional painter. But my step-father insisted I study accounts.”

Fortunately, she met Mukabi at The GoDown before he moved to the Railway Museum. Through him she met another artist Longinos Nagila who helped her find the Kariobangi North studio.

Joan and the Warembo Wasanii women have had several recycled art fashion shows: one at UN Habitat, one at USIU and one at a SWAN fair (Support women artists now).

MAU MAU LEADER BILDAD KAGGIA GETS HIS DUE. SO DOES ORCHARDSON-MAZRUI

[This story was written back in 2013 when Harry Ebale, one of Kenya's finest actors was still alive. And so was Phoenix Players. We miss Harry. We also wish the Phoenix Theatre was still around.  I found this story tucked away in one old google account and didnt want to lose it again. So here it is.]

By Margaretta wa Gacheru (2013)

Phoenix Players have such high regard for the Kenyan playwright John Sibi-Okumu that they reserve a slot for him every year when his latest original play will be staged.

Committed to writing about what he calls the “Kenyan condition”, Sibi has presented a number of his plays at Phoenix, most of which have been received with overwhelming praise, as Role Play and Meetings were.

But others, like Minister Karibu got mixed reviews. I for one liked the show very much, but there were other cultural critics who found flaws in the script, claiming he was stereotyping his political characters in tribal terms.

Either way, Sibi is no stranger to controversy and doesn’t shy away from it, as the public will see from this Friday night when his brand new play, Kaggia, will premiere at Phoenix Theatre.

As Kenyans may recall, Bildad Kaggia was one of the Kapenguria Six, who with Jomo Kenyatta and others was incarcerated for several years. Once released, he joined Kenyatta’s new government, but didn’t stay long since he not only had ideological difference with Kenyatta. He also couldn’t stand what he perceived to be the corruption that he saw in the new government.

Kaggia had played a pivotal role in the Mau Mau anti-colonial war, but he never received the recognition he deserved. Hopefully, Sibi-Okumu’s play will go some distance in rectifying that historical omission.

Harry Ebale (who just finished starring in Accidental Death of a Terrorist at Phoenix) was Sibi’s pick to play Kaggia and Lydiah Gitachu was also the playwright’s choice to play Kaggia’s wife Wambui.

Nick Njache is directing the four-member cast in which two young filmmakers, Stacey (Yriimo Mwaura) and Xan (Bruce Makau), contemplate making a film on the man. And as they do, they take on a multiplicity of roles that should give us a panoramic view of the Mau Mau leader who chose to make large sacrifices in his personal life even as he fought for the liberation of his country from colonial rule.

Kaggia will run from October 31^st through November 15^th. Already the show is booked to play to several full house crowds so it might be best to get tickets in advance.

Meanwhile, the word got round this past week about two plays that were either extended beyond the original closing date or brought back to the stage by popular demand. Both Accidental Death of a Terrorist and How Dearly I Hate You (both favorably reviewed in Business Daily) closed last Sunday night with each one playing to packed houses, the first at Phoenix, the second at Alliance Francaise.

So anyone who doubts the Kenyan public is increasingly engaged in attending theatrical productions need to think again. Both shows were exceedingly entertaining but at the same time they each had a clear cut social message. Accidental Death examined the threat of police impunity and the need for vigilance while Hate explored gender inequities and one young woman’s resistance to being treated like mindless chattel by the men in her life.

In both cases, one could ignore the socio-political message and just enjoy the hilarity of each play. But if one gave either show a second thought, they’d have to appreciate the humor as well as the subtlety of the scripts staged by Phoenix Players and Heartstrings Kenya.

Finally, Professor Elizabeth Orchardson-Mazrui worked her magic last Saturday at Paa ya Paa Art Centre where she managed to transform a humble book launch into a multifaceted performance featuring story tellers and spoken word poets.

Launching not one but three brand new books, Professor Elizabeth proved again that she’s a prolific writer despite being best known as a fine artist and art lecturer at Kenyatta University.

On hand to formally launch her new play The Lion of Egerton Castle, selected short stories, Seasons of the Jacarandas and collection of her newest poems (which she described as “angry”) called Recriminations, Lamentations, Ululations, were two veteran Kenyan storytellers, Muthoni Likimani and David Maillu.    

Both Muthoni and Maillu had been invited by the Prof. in order to honor their contributions to Kenya’s incipient literary culture. But she also invited a much younger generation of performing artist to dramatize her writings and lift them off the written page and into a vibrant vocal presence.

Actor Jason Otieno, blogger and poet Njeri Wangari and novelist Alexander Nderitu each took turns bringing Elizabeth’s poetry and prose to life. But it was poems like African Woman Repackaged and Dishonorable Honorable Members that most vividly confirmed that Orchardson-Mazrui is one of Kenya’s most important poets of our time.

 

HIGHLIGHTING THREE BRUSH TU ARTISTS

By Margaretta wa Gacheru (revised 17 June for 20th June 2019)

When Brush Tu Art Studio decided to spread out and move over into the house next door, they also chose to tear down walls (both literally and figuratively) as a way of expanding the studio’s working space.

But even before BTAS doubled their size, they had countless young Kenyan artists coming and wanting to work with this singular art centre in Eastlands filled with some of Nairobi’s most prolific and high-profiled painters, including Michael Musyoka, Boniface Maina and David Thuku, the founding members of the Studio.

Brush tu has always welcomed newcomers to its space. Indeed, since it took off in 2013, it’s been committed to ‘growing’ the Kenyan artists community. The studio itself has grown from being the founding three to including Waweru Gichuhi, Elias Mung’ora and then Emmaus Kimani. After that came Peteros Ndunde, Lincoln Mwangi and Abdul Kipruto (whose three-man exhibition ‘Aftermath of Aftermath’ opened last Saturday), and finally, Bushkimani Moira, Sebawali Sio and Kimani Ngaru.

But ever since 2017 when the Danish embassy assisted BTAS to start a year-long internship program, the interns’ arriving has been virtually non-stop. Currently, they include two Michelle’s, one Wanja, one Wairimu, two Nga’nga’s, Antony and Joe, another Antony Kamau and Melody. All had one or two of their artworks up at the Studio last Saturday along with a few by Emmaus, Sebawali, Bushkimani, Ngaru and Munene Kariuki. There wasn’t one on display by any of the founding artists (apart from one seen by peeking into Musyoka’s space and seeing it was a work in progress.)

But their absence was intentional, according to Waweru who explained this was a day for spotlighting the three resident artists. The ‘veterans’ didn’t want to distract from attention meant to be given to the artworks of Lincoln, Peteros and Abdul. The founders were around but mainly to welcome visitors to their Open Studio.

What was well organized was three immaculate, newly-painted rooms serving as solo spaces for the three. Each having a very different style, Abdul’s room was ‘evolutionary’ in the sense that one could see how his art of printmaking has changed as he had learned new techniques and experimented with them. Prior to workshops at Brush tu with Thom Ogonga and Peterson Kamwathi, his prints were charming, bold and striking. Then came tutorials in woodcut printmaking, and finally screen printing. These skills were manifest in prints that reflected the increased sophistication of the artist who’d readily mastered these techniques and reinvented his style.

Peteros has also expanded his approach to his art although he’s largely stayed true to his intense style of line drawing framed within contours of human forms. What’s interesting is that while many young Kenyan artists are into portraiture, Peteros draws everything except human faces. His drawings are shaped in the form of graceful torsos, elongated limbs and lovely painted toes. Each work is monochromatic, powerfully expressive of his emblematic style.

Lincoln also has an easily identifiable approach to his art. He creates delicate and detailed figures, usually one or two (at most) drawn against a stark grey background which emanates a sad, sobering chill. His works seem to speak of the human condition, a condition where individuals look lonely and a bit lost. In several paintings, the sobriety of the scene is softened by the presence of a single lamb which companion the solitary human being. What comes to mind are the people I know who have a problem interacting with other humans but find solace, comfort and joy with four-legged creatures who they know cannot do them harm.

There’s at least one other room where Peteros and Lincoln share the space with their works complimenting each other well. Otherwise, in random spaces in the rest of BTAS, one will find photography by Emmaus, paintings by Antony Kamau, Sebawali and Joe Ng’ang’a and the sculptures of Kimani Ngaru and Munene Kariithi who created a life-sized man hunkered over his cell phone and covered literally in plastic keyboards from discarded laptops that he managed to find.

And in keeping with Brush tu’s brand of hospitality, there were four other features of the Open Studio that were arranged just for the day: there was a ‘water hole’ where drinks were served, a fresh food café complete with microwave and grill, live music provided by two acoustic guitarists, Louis Kinyua and Garcon Kamau and a garden where visitors came in a steady stream and stuck around into wee hours of the night.

By Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted 16 June 2019 unrevised)

When Brush Tu Art Studio decided to spread out and move over into the house next door, they also chose to tear down walls (both literally and figuratively) as a way of expanding the studio’s working space.

But even before BTAS doubled their size, they had countless young Kenyan artists coming and wanting to stay. The atmosphere at the studio was alive with kinetic energy, making it feel utterly conducive to creative enterprise.

Brush tu has always been about ‘growing’ the Kenyan artists community. The studio itself has grown from being first David Thuku, Boniface Maina and Michael Musyoka, then Waweru Gichuhi, Elias Mung’ora and shortly thereafter Emmaus Kimani. After that came Peteros Ndunde, Lincoln Mwangi and Abdul Kipruto (whose one-day three-man exhibition ‘Aftermath of Aftermath’ opened last Saturday), and finally, Bushkimani Moira, Sebawali Sio and Kimani Ngaru arrived on the scene.

But ever since 2017 when the Danish embassy assisted Brush tu in starting a year-long internship program, the interns’ arriving has been virtually non-stop. Currently, they include two Michelle’s, one Wanja, the other Wairimu, two Nga’nga’s, Antony and Joe, another Antony who’s also Kamau and Melody. All had one or two of their artworks up at the Studio last Saturday along with a few by Emmaus, Sebawali, Bushkimani, Ngaru and Munene Kariuki. There wasn’t a single one on display by any of the founding artists (apart from one seen by taking a sneak preview into Musyoka’s space and seeing it was a work in progress.)

But their absence was intentional, according to Waweru who explained this was a day for spotlighting the three resident artists. The ‘veterans’ didn’t want to distract from attention meant to be given to the artworks of Lincoln, Peteros and Abdul. The founders were around but mainly to welcome visitors to their Open Studio.

What was well organized was three immaculate, newly-painted rooms serving as solo spaces for the three. Each having a very different style, Abdul’s room was ‘evolutionary’ in the sense that one could see how his art of printmaking has changed as he had learned new techniques and experimented with them. Prior to workshops at Brush tu with Thom Ogonga and Peterson Kamwathi, his prints were charming, bold and striking. Then came tutorials in woodcut printmaking, and finally screen printing. These skills were manifest in prints that reflected the increased sophistication of the artist who’d readily mastered these techniques and reinvented his style.

Peteros has also expanded his approach to his art although he’s largely stayed true to his intense style of line drawing framed within contours of human forms. What’s interesting is that while many young Kenyan artists are into portraiture, Peteros draws everything except human faces. His drawings are shaped in the form of graceful torsos, elongated limbs and lovely painted toes. Each work is monochromatic, powerfully expressive of his emblematic style.

Lincoln also has an easily identifiable approach to his art. He creates delicate and detailed figures, usually one or two (at most) drawn against a stark grey background which emanates a sad, sobering chill. His works seem to speak of the human condition, a condition where individuals look lonely and a bit lost. In several paintings, the sobriety of the scene is softened by the presence of a single lamb which companion the solitary human being. What comes to mind are the people I know who have a problem interacting with other humans but find solace, comfort and joy with four-legged creatures who they know cannot do them harm.

There’s at least one other room where Peteros and Lincoln share the space with their works complimenting each other well. Otherwise, in random spaces in the rest of the art studio, one will find the photography of Emmaus, the paintings of Antony Kamau, Sebawali and Joe Ng’ang’a and the sculptures of Kimani Ngaru and Munene Kariithi who created a life-sized man hunkered over his cell phone and covered literally in plastic keyboards from discarded laptops that he managed to find.

And in keeping with Brush tu’s brand of hospitality, there were four other features of the Open Studio that were arranged just for the day: there was a ‘water hole’ where all sorts of drinks were served, a fresh food café complete with microwave and grill, a garden where visitors could spend the afternoon and hours into the night and live music provided by two acoustic guitarists, Louis Kinyua and Garcon Kamau.

LUSALA, THE CROWN OF THE NBO FILM FESTIVAL

                                    Key cast members and producers of Lusala at its World Premiere at Prestige Plaza

By Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted 12 June 2019)

NBO Film Festival at Prestige Plaza has just two more days to go before the full screening of rich array of Pan-African films is done on Sunday night.

This year’s Festival featured films not only from Kenya (including Subira, Poacher and Demla among others), but from elsewhere in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

But without doubt, the one film that singularly thrilled two full-houses of viewers on opening night was ‘Lusala’. Mugambi Nthige’s directorial debut in film was a revelation, especially after just watching the brilliant stage play, ‘Written on the body’ by Andia Kisia which he also directed.

But Mugambi’s directorial skills barely scratch the surface of what this man is creatively capable of, bearing in mind that he not only co-wrote Lusala; he also co-scripted award-winning films like Supa Modo, Kati Kati and Nairobi Half-Life.

But having seen them all, one is tempted to suggest Lusala’s the one that might earn him, Brian Ogola (as Lusala) and the rest of his cast even wider accolades. (How about an Oscar for best Foreign film 2019!)

Lusala’s a sensitive story about a boy who’s violently brutalized by his alcoholic dad to the point of running away literally for his life. He’s transported from poverty into his uncle’s affluent home where he grows up apparently a full-fledged member of that family. However, at the wife’s (Mkamzee Mwatela) insistence, he’s unceremoniously told to move out and find his own way in the world.

Thrown back into poverty, he starts flashing back to his painful youth and to the sweet sister (Stacie Waweru) he’d apparently blocked out of his mind. Her hallucination had been there before which could be why the wife, fearing his instability, had insisted he leave their home before he did damage to her family.

                                                      Brian Ogola as Lusala with baby sister (Stacie Waweru)

It turns out Lusala had been traumatized, but not just by a cruel father. His sister had run away with him but had gotten ‘lost’ along the way. His feelings of guilt haunt him incessantly and they get worse as he has more time alone.

Brian Ogola portrays Lusala’s mental breakdown with poignant sensitivity, to the point where by the last scene we feel his excruciating despair. Cinematically, his mental confusion is brilliantly shot, as the camera captures his growing anguish as her hallucination takes over his mind.

Lusala tries suicide but fails. Pulled from the family swimming pool, his fate is left hanging as is his captivated audience. The horror that Ogola sustains at the very end of the film leaves us wondering: is the horror the discovery he is still alive or the fact that he almost died? We’ll never know. That is, not unless Lusala, his sister and the whole cast are given a sequel to find out: will Lusala ever be lifted out of limbo or be freed from the horrible guilt he feels for losing the loving sister he feels he left behind to die?

'DON’T PANIC' SENDS A MESSAGE TO WOMEN

By Margaretta wa Gacheru (12 June 2019 fir 14 June 2019)

Heartstrings’ latest production, ‘Don’t Panic’, is a stunner of a comedy. It’s a show that deals with the usual issues of infidelity and betrayal but from an unusually ingenious point of view.

At the outset, you won’t imagine that Patricia (Bernice Nthenya) and Mashudi (Victor Nyaata) are anything other than love birds thrilled to be celebrating their third anniversary of marriage. They look like the ideal couple. Even Victor’s single younger brother Zadock (Nick Kwach) admires them so much he’s thinking of following their lead and getting hitched himself.

Patricia raises one small point in passing about Mashudi’s infidelity in their first year of wedlock which broke her heart. But the incident is skipped over lightly, as if it’s of no consequence. But it is.

In the last scene of the play, we learn Mashudi’s infidelity hit her so hard, she took drastic action, unbeknownst to him. She even knows about his current affair with Paravina (Mackrine Andala), who has the audacity to show up at the party. But Pat doesn’t let on that she knows. Instead, she acts as if all is well until the time is right.

She doesn’t reveal her secret until after Paravina shows up, intent on exposing her lover’s duplicity to Patricia and then making her demands. But it doesn’t work that way. Once Zadock figures out who this woman is, he tries to rescue the situation by claiming she’s his new sweetheart and wife-to-be.

That ruse also gets crushed once Zadock’s real sweetie, Ruena (Cindy Kahuha) shows up and hears the group talking about Nick’s new ‘bride to be’. She’s furious, so the truth has to be told.

But before Zadock gets a chance to explain, Patricia spills the beans to say she’s known about Mashudi’s infidelity from the beginning. She even knows that Paravina is three months pregnant with Mash’s seed.

But the real shocker comes as she explains why she kept quiet and what she did in the meantime. She had drawn up divorce papers after Mashudi’s initial infidelity which he’d apparently signed. After that, she said no more about it even though she quietly followed through on her threat and legally divorced the guy. Staying on after the divorce was her way of “resisting being made a victim”.

She admits she could have left, but then she would have been just another impoverished woman with no home of her own. So instead, she played the same game as Mashudi who lied about his devotion to their marriage, and so did she. It’s her way of keeping her head up high while devising the best strategy of escape.

In the end, right after she spills the beans and before she walks out the door, Patricia confesses that Amos, the grounds-keeper, is none other than her new boyfriend.

‘Don’t Panic’ may sound like serious stuff, but in keeping with Heartstrings’ style of hilarity, there is plenty of humor in the show, especially after the Pastor (Cyprian Osoro) shows up to celebrate the couple he’d officially wedded three years before. Making a flamboyant entrance, the Pastor can’t help preaching, enlisting Zadock in Bible readings as he repeats the righteous verses with theatrical flare, particularly those ironically related to the recklessness of the man who indulges his lusts with women.

What is slightly inconceivable is the way Patricia pretends that all is well when it was not.She even welcomes Paravina into her home and practically treats her like a co-wife without revealing what she knows. Assumedly, she’d given lots of thought to what to do since she was faced with the same dilemma that many Kenyan married women have, namely how to save face and not reveal the humiliation of your spouse’s infidelity and betrayal. Patricia’s strategy was possibly the only path she could have pursued—namely, staying patient, bidding her time until the moment was right for her to get out and start again.

There’s a message for married women in ‘Don’t Panic’. Maybe not to do exactly as Patricia did, but by refusing to be trapped, she resisted being tricked and victimized. She plotted and planned how to take her life into her own hands and not depend on or wait for her man to change. By choosing to chart her own course, she might get more married women thinking—how best to do the same.

In ‘Don’t Panic’, it is the woman who has the last word!

PRIVATE COLLECTORS STAND IN FOR A NATIONAL GALLERY

By Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted 10 June for 14 June 2019)

Kenyan creatives have been complaining for years that they don’t have a National Art Gallery like the ones existing in places like Harare, Johannesburg, London and Washington, DC. They have a National Museum, but that was designed to display fossils and dead birds before it took some interest in the arts.

                                                                                     Ngene Mwaura

The one resort where one can go to at least see the works of Kenyan and other visual artists is the Galleries, Art Centres, select restaurants and various hotels. Such places include galleries like One Off, Circle Art, Red Hill and Banana Hill, art centres like Brush tu Art Studio, Kuona Artists Collective, Kobo Trust, Paa ya Paa and Ngecha art centre (with the GoDown closing shop for renovations) and restaurants like the Tamarind, Talisman, Que Pas and the Intercontinental Hotel.

But none of these venues are designed to keep a permanent collection of Kenyan art which they preserve in temperature-controlled conditions that ensure the art survives in spite of the heat, cold, vermin and neglect. The one exception is the National Museum, but few people have been able to see inside their store or ensure that the artworks have retained their original form.

                                                                          Patti Endo

This is when there’s no where else to look for the preservation of Kenyan art but to private individuals who collect, display and also take special care of the art that they own. By now, Kenyan contemporary artists’ works exists in both public and private collections overseas. For instance, it’s impressive that the British Museum owns one piece by Kenya’s own Peterson Kamwathi and that UNESCO has Elkana Ong’esa’s bird at the entrance of their Paris headquarters.

                                                                                 Michael Musyoka

But equally or perhaps even more important are the local collectors who collect and carefully retain local artists’ works. Among them are businessmen like Mutuma Marangu with his vast collection of Kisii stone sculptures, broadcasters like Jeff Koinange whose collection is Pan-African, not only Kenyan and gallerists like Hellmuth Rossler-Musch whose large private collection compliments his public exhibitions of contemporary art.

                         (l-r) Zachariah Mbutha, Ngene Mwaura, Richard Njogu and Dixon Otieno at Jeffie's Umoja studio

There are also some local artists who collect the works of their peers which they have obtained either by swapping their art for their friends’ or in rare cases, buying a piece at a reduced price. One British artist who lived in Nairobi for several years and painted portraits of countless Kenyan artists is Dale Webster. Dale has returned to UK but he swapped so many portraits with leading Kenyan names that his collection of art is substantial and looked after with loving care.

One Kenyan artist who has a sizeable collection of contemporary Kenyan art is Jeffie Magina. He has only been collecting since 2009 but Jeffie’s abode in Umoja Estate proves that one need not be wealthy in financial terms to be rich in appreciation of the works of local artists.

Longinos Nagila

Jeffie has art by everyone from Patrick Mukabi, Michael Musyoka, Boniface Maina, Kota Otieno, Ehoodi Kichapi and Kevin Oduor to BSQ artists Kenneth Otieno and Bebeto Thufu, Gloria Muthoka, Nicholas Odhiambo, Wilson Matunda, Mike Chalo, Evans Ngure and Dixon Otieno. He has art by Zachariah Mbutha, Peteros Ndunde, Evans Yegon, Joseph Weche, Joyce Kuria, John Kariuki, Melanie Manosi, and John Kamicha. And he even has works by Longinos Nagila, Patti Endo, David Thuku, Remi Musindi, Charles Ngatia, Hassan Ali and Daisy Buyanzi.

Jeffie’s home in Umoja defies the notion that one must be rich and live in a mansion to own fine art. What he has is the foresight to have known that all these busy people were passionate about their painting and seriously committed to growing their creative capabilities.

Granted since his flat is not vast, most of his artworks are miniatures. And many were conceived when the artists were just picking up steam in their styles of expression, experimentation and innovation. For instance, Jeffie has several pieces by Michael Musyoka which only give one an inkling of where Musyoka’s artistic adventures will take him aesthetically. The same is true of the pieces he has by Boniface Maina, Longinos Nagila and even David Thuku.

                                                                 Patrick Mukabi

Many of his pieces were obtained through swaps with the artists. But Jeffie, who has a background in finance, says he didn’t make those swaps solely to support his fellow artists.

“Of course, I knew their art would only accrue in value in the future,” says Jeffie who understands both the aesthetic and the economic value of building his own collection of Kenyan art.

SLAY QUEEN STRINGS MEN ALONG LIKE A PUPPETEER

By Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted 8 June 2019)

Talk about a super-schemer who knows how to wrap men around her little finger and you are talking about a slay queen. In the latest Liquid Arts Production, the slay queen’s name is Zuri.

In ‘Deliver me from Zuri’ by the company’s own scriptwriter, Kevin Manda (who also plays the uber-rich engineer Luke who’s putty in Zuri’s hands), men fall for her like flies.

It’s a comedy that borders on being theatre of the absurd since one can’t be sure what all of these men see in Zuri (Fiona Otieno). But then they say ‘love is blind’. Zuri apparently has a magic charm that enables her to get all she asks for from the men who get sucked into her snare.

Luke happily writes her checks for millions without blinking an eye. The petty thief Chapuo (Pethuel Kimawachi) hands her computers and fancy shoes that he’s just swiped her neighbors, and the street-wise rastaman (Stanley Musyimi) Fernand tolerates her inane giggles and gossiping with her roommate Nandi (Irene Mungai) apparently because he anticipates ‘making woopie’ with this queen when the time is right. But that time never comes.

They all take turns popping into Zuri’s flat and somehow, she manages to get all she wants from each of them before booting them out unceremoniously.

A key player in Zuri’s grand scheme is Luke’s gossipy sister Nuru. All Zuri had to do was plant a fake story somewhere that she knew Nuru would hear since it would then get circulated like wildfire.

The fake news that got spread around was that Chapuo was being sought by the police for robbery. There was a big reward for anyone who had information on his whereabouts, even if it turned out he was hiding under Zuri’s bed.

What nobody I knew anticipated was that Zuri even got to the cop. Sorry if I spoil the ending but it’s too critical to ignore. It seems the show is ending with the cop (Tevin Omolo) coming for Chapuo when all three boyfriends are in Zuri’s flat. But Chapuo manages to twist the picture so the blame falls on Zuri. The boyfriends feel vindicated as each one discovers Zuri has cheated them all.

But then the last word belongs to Zuri who’d also gotten the cop to concur with her scheme. She’s now free from the three and ready to look for more.

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KENYAN FILMMAKERS SELECTED TO SHOW THEIR FILMS IN ZANZIBAR

                                                                           Short Animation by Stan Manthi

By Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted  5 June for 8 June 2019)

 Kenyans can be ever so proud to hear that two of their Creatives have had their films selected to be shown during the upcoming Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF).

The two films, one a full-length feature, the other a short animation, were chosen out of more than 3,500 entries received from 136 countries, practically the highest number of entries received since the festival was launched more than two decades ago.

                           Subira co-producers Vibeke Muasya and Sippy Chadha who also wrote & directed the film

The annual film festival, which is in its 22^nd year will run from July 6^th- 14^th on the Indian Ocean island across the bay from Dar es Salaam. ZIFF has quickly come to rival its West African counterpart, FESPACO in Ouagadougou, which also attracts audiences from all over the world.

This year Subira, the award-winning feature film by Ravneet Sippy Chadha has been chosen to open the Festival on July 6^th.

“It’s a big honor indeed,” says the woman who wrote, directed and co-produced the semi-autobiographical film in which one of Kenya’s leading actresses, Brenda Wairimu plays the lead character. The film will also be in competition for the Golden Dhow in the feature film category.

Also honored to have his film selected by ZIFF is Stanslaus Manthi whose nine-minute animation, Caged, will also be in competition for the Golden Dhow, but in the Best Short Film category.

Caged just recently premiered in March at the 5^th annual Mashariki African Film Festival in Kigali, Rwanda. The animation follows the life of a depressed middle-class Kenyan man who is trying to balance his work and personal life but with little success.

Manthi says his animation was inspired by events he has seen, especially among young Kenyans who have felt intense pressure to ‘make it’ socially and financially. In the process, they have overworked themselves to the point of feeling so depressed they resort to substance abuse and in some cases, even suicide.

“My animation was simply based on what I see in Kenyan society today,” says Manthi. “It’s nothing personal; it’s just a slice of life.”

                                                                                 A scene from Caged by Stan Manthi

In contrast, Sippy says Subira, which she co-produced with the Danish filmmaker Vibeke Muasya, was very much inspired by her own life experiences. For she, like the man in Manthi’s ‘Caged’ had felt trapped and confined by the patriarchal culture in which she had been raised. Yet Subira makes the choice to break out of her cultural constraints as did the filmmaker.

Subira premiered in November last year at the Westgate Mall. At the opening, the entire cast of Subira was on hand including Brenda Wairimu, Tirath Padam, Nice Githinji, Ali Mwangola, Melvin Alusa and Abubaka Mwenda. A number of government officials and foreign dignitaries also attended the premiere.

Since then, Subira has won numerous film awards. At the last Kenyan Kalasha Awards for Film and TV, it won for Best Feature Film, Best Director (Sippy Chadha), Best Actress (Brenda Wairimu), Best Lighting (Sole Ogada) and Best Editing (Roselidah Taabu and Terry Kelly). The film has also been shown at film festivals in South Africa, Rwanda and Germany.

In the past, four Kenyan films have won the prestigious Golden Dhow prize. There was Bob Nyanja’s The Rugged Priest in 2011, Faras Cavallo’s Wazi? FM in 2015, Nick Reding’s Watatu in 2016 and in 2018, Likarion Wainaina’s film Supa Modo won the Golden Dhow.

Described as the largest multi-disciplinary cultural festival in Africa, ZIFF is also known as the Festival of the Dhow Countries.

As part of the Nairobi Film Festival, Subira will be shown on Saturday, 8 June at Prestige Plaza.