NAIROBI THEATRE THRIVING

THEATRE IS THRIVING IN NAIROBI By Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted October If anyone is under the illusion that there is nothing going on in the Kenyan theatre world currently, they need to be dispelled of that mistaken point of view. The best evidence proving there’s actually a thriving theatre scene took place this past weekend when no less than six productions were staged plus one public forum on ‘the history of Kenyan theatre’ led John Sibi Okumu, one of the country’s most prominent performer, playwright, producer, director and broadcaster. Even better than the number of shows bearing witness to dynamism of local theatre is the diversity of productions that were staged. They included every from an Alfred Hitchcock murder mystery entitled ‘The 39 steps’ to an insightful comedy by Heartstrings Entertainment called ‘Rock and hard place’ which of course is an abbreviated form for being caught between a rock and a hard place. The title refers to that place where millions of Kenyans currently reside or where they have been driven due to economic circumstances. Then there was one solo performance whose Bible-based script was an adaptation of the Gospel according to Mark. And just as Heartstring tends to stage original scripts, thus making their plays essentially ‘world premieres’, so Liquid Arts is also a troupe that regularly stages original scripts, often by the company’s founding father, Peter Tosh. This they did this past weekend. But unlike Heartstrings which always delivers laughs, Liquid Arts tackles more heavy-duty topics, often family-related. That is exactly what they did last Friday through Sunday when they staged Tosh’s original script, ‘Spot On’ which tackled the difficult topic of alcohol and the way it is causing havoc in many homes. Meanwhile, the Professional Centre, which had once been a centre of theatre activity is currently being revived by young theatre companies like the Journey’s Men. Illustrating how well the Scriptures can serve as a relevant source for theatrical performances. Mueni Lueni directed Isibi Isibi in a solo rendering of The Gospel according to Mark. Finally, there was the American musical, ‘The Sound of Music’ that became an instant classic once it came out as a film in 1965. Staged and sung by the students of St. Mary’s School, we have been seeing increasing numbers of both Western and Kenyan musicals being produced by Kenyans of late. Those include Sitawa Namwalie’s work in progress, ‘Escape: the musical’ and the latest musical initiative by Youth Theatre Kenya, entitled ‘Matumaini’. Unfortunately, one person couldn’t see everything, especially as there was also a forum led by Sibi Okumu on ‘The History of Kenyan Theatre’ held at Goethe Institute. Okumu’s talk would have been the quickest way to catch up on where local thespians have come from and where they are going as of now. Otherwise, some of us tried to attend everything that was staged, including the parody on the murder mystery by Braeburn Players, the indigenous scripts by Heartstrings and Liquid Arts, the Scripturally-based solo, the American musical and even the discussion on the history of Kenyan theatre. It was practically impossible to achieve, but the one venue where one was assured of finding a full house crowd which had come to watch a ‘rib-tickling’ comedy was at Alliance Francaise where Heartstrings comedy never fails to bring on loads of laughs. This held to be true with ‘Rock and Hard Place’. All about a guy called Marcus (Ibrahim Muchemi) who lives alone but attracts lots of his neighbors, almost all of whom are in arrears with their rent. The Caretaker (Fischer Maina) knows these deadbeats hang out at Marcus’s flat where the door is always open and no judgement against them is passed. Instead, they banter in anecdotal jokes as one after another arrives with their stories and quirky survival tactics to share. Eunice is the one female tenant that all the men admire since she works hard, doing several jobs, with a happy heart. Even Marcus admits before her arrival that he wouldn’t mind marrying her. But before he has that chance, a strange woman arrives with an apparent entitlement to Marcus’s heart. That’s when we learn he has inherited heaps of money and his family wants him home. But he doesn’t want to live among the rich. He’d prefer to live with real people. That’s when he finally proposes to Eunice who turns him down because her heart already belongs to the piki piki taxi driver (Timothy Drisii). What’s clear from the experience last weekend is that one can find all genres of theatre in this town.