MILLAZ’S FIRST MURDER MYSTERY TAKES CUES FROM AGATHA CHRISTIE

By Margaretta wa Gacheru (April 9, 2023)

One thing that’s most laudable about Millaz Productions is that they give young people a chance to take on challenging roles, like director and playwright, roles that tend to be occupied by older guys, not younger girls. But it happened during ‘Midnight Train’, which was scripted by Saumu Kombo, 27, who began her literary career as a poet, then shifted to scriptwriting. But this was her first murder mystery, which was a valiant challenge. Then there is Terry Munyeria, 28, who directed a Millaz production for the first time after previously doing everything from stage management and set design to acting in previous Millaz shows. Speaking to BDLife right after the show’s Sunday matinee at Kenya National Theatre, Terry explains that she’s been with Millaz for the last three years, and loves the way aspiring thespians are learning on the job.

Constructing the semblance of a train on KNT’s massive stage, Terry says she didn’t actually build the sets, but it was her idea to construct the three separate cabins to enable the action to flow from two luxury suites to the kitchen. The play begins with chaos as crew members ignore the pre-wedding party and simply appear in places that are above their pay grade. That includes the cooks, Josiah (Mike Ndeda) and Hawa (Leila Tasha) who are part of the commotion that transpires throughout the play. Their presence lends an element of comic relief, except that Josiah is the first to get murdered mysteriously. But moments before the cooks appear, there’s the security guard, George (Emmanuel Chindia) and his girlfriend Lola (Vivian Nyawira) who move right into the bride-to-be’s suite. Lola is a trash talker, who is especially rude to the bride, calling her nasty names and claiming she’s too old for Yusuf, the groom. Meanwhile, George looks innocuous, but we soon learn how looks can be deceiving.

Moving on, there seems to be no rhyme or reason to the demise of one person on the train after another. In fact, at the station, before the train takes off, an announcer promises the ride will be a happy, fulfilled trip, so everyone should relax. Unfortunately, the announcer got it all wrong. This trip is meant to be joyful, desined by two wedding planners (Precious Mawia and Ann Nyawino) especially for bride and groom to be, Maria (Ileene Anyona) and Yusuf (Robinson Mudavadi). Instead, the train turns into a nightmare shortly after it leaves the station. Initially, things get bad for Maria after she sees Yusuf heading off with his ex-girlfriend, who is not on the guest list, but got invited by the groom. That leads Maria to seriously consider cancelling the wedding. From then on, the squabbling spreads like wildfire among everyone from the wedding planners to Maria and her girlfriend, Naima (Terry Ngangi) to the cooks who compound the confusion and finally, to the security guard who turns out to be more about insecurity than security. The groom is nowhere to be seen. But then a set of boxes, apparently gifts, from Yusuf to Maria arrive, as if to placate the bride. She’s pleased, but then the first box she opened is filled with bloody body parts which freak everyone out.

Suddenly, they all realize there must be a murderer on the train. (We never find out who the body parts belong to, but nobody seems to care). Maria is most distressed, and has reason to be, since a string of murders are taking place all around her. They seem to be random killings, since there are no clues and no one on the train looks like an assassin. No one actually witnesses the killings, since they seem timed to coincide with electrical blackouts. Finally, the killer shows his hand. It’s George, the so-called security guard, who identifies himself as the founder-member of the Midnight Train Murder Club. It is a surprise that takes too long to emerge. But when it finally does, he says he’s going to first finish off the bride and groom and then the cook and maybe even his own girlfriend. At the last minute, the groom finally arrives, but he instantly gets clobber by George, and all looks lost. Fortunately, there is one last hope. It’s Yusuf’s wise old grandfather who appears just in time to save the day. He finishes George, ending the show on quite a violent note. But as it’s Kenya’s first original murder mystery, it’s a good beginning.