SET IN THE SLUMS, MATUMAINI TELLS YOUTH’S STORY VIA HIP HOP AND RAP

By margaretta wa Gacheru (8.27.23) Matumaini, Youth Theatre Kenya’s latest production staged this past weekend at Nairobi Academy, has all the makings to perform a musical masterpiece. First and foremost was producer-director Jazz Moll’s ability to assemble a classy creative team of musicians, choreographer, costume and stage designers, and scriptwriters to ensure that all the moving parts of this ambitious show come together harmoniously. He’s even got voice and acting coaches to assist his cast of 100 youth, ages 9 to 19. Especially important to the accuracy of the tale which is based on recent history, are his researchers. They clearly dug deep into the scene where the story is set. It’s the Dandora dumpsite where there’s a thriving local economy based on trash collection and its trade as well as crime. There are also countless youth who’ve got hopes and dreams as well as big problems related to poverty and unemployment. To bring out their idioms of expression as well as their emotions, anxieties, and aspirations was the challenge of both the researchers and the writers who were led by YTK’s long-time colleague, Lizzie Jogo. The set designer was another important character since the choice of venue, Nairobi Academy’s Sports Centre, had its plus and minus points. On the positive side, the spacious Centre lent itself to the creation of a theatre-in-the-round experience. It also afforded room for the 100 cast members who danced and sang throughout the show, occasionally creating a cacophony that conflicted with the lines of lead actors like Anna (Amie Rae Katta) and Joseph (Lali Abdalla). It was their story that was at the centre around which swirled themes like teenage pregnancy and the impact of political corruption on vulnerable youth desperate to find ways to escape poverty and get a new lease on life. Music and rapping were Joseph’s starring talents and he hoped they’d lead him into wider harvest fields than trash collection in Korogocho and Dandora. This is why YTK’s musical team were so important. This time round, the company attracted musicians who came from as far as UK and US to perform for the show and bring wonderfully nuanced music even as they had an impressive team of local musicians performing on everything from violas, violins, and xylophones to flute, keyboaord, sax, trumpet, trombone, and drums. Even the set changes were impressive and quick, thanks to the innovative use of mabati sheets backed by wooden handles and carried as a means of making new configurations of rooms and mabati homes. On the negative side of the Sports Centre were the acoustics which I found horrible, making it hard to hear the story at times. But one thing that puts Matumaina in the running for winner of KTA’s kikwetu award were the range of local languages, Sheng, Kiswahili, and English all used to enhance the authenticity of the show’s portrait of life in these so-called informal settlements or slums. The love story between Anna and Joseph was complicated from the beginning since the first thing we knew about her, besides her being daughter to the community leader (Mtele Mohammed) is that she was pregnant and had’t told Joseph about her condition. Incidentally, this was the perfect moment to hear local views on pregnancy, abortion, and family planning, and thereafter inject at least an idea that Anna had options other than giving birth at her tender age. But for some reason those topics are not discussed. The scriptwriters had other issues to explore, particular the universal themes of hope and despair. We also saw what a Mafia-styled operation the land-grabbing politician (Nelson Safari) was running, using his minion, Pinches (David Katana) to manipulate vulnerable youth with promises the politician never planned to keep. Having the poli standing high overhead of the slums and the poor people beneath, was symbolic of his dominance over them. He was the one who raised the issue of building a recycling plant in the heart of their land. He said it would bring much needed jobs and revenue to the unemployed. But by his hiding the title deed and pretending it was lost, he only offered a ploy to distract the youth whose leader, Anna’s father, was getting in his way by asking too many questions. He had to go. The play ended abruptly just as it did in act one, with a gun appearing and then somebody getting shot. But did the father die or not? So, the show’s a cliff-hanger and a story well told. Perhaps YTK can get a better sound system next time.