By
Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted August 15, 2018)
Zippy Okoth
joins an esteemed assemblage of Kenyan women who are taking their place and
even taking the lead on the Kenyan theatre scene. With her chapter two of the ‘Diary
of a Divorced Woman’, staged last weekend at Kenya National Theatre, her
‘Silence Voices’ came in the wake of ‘The Brazen Edition’ of Too Early for
Birds, which featured an all-female cast and crew and illustrated how Kenyan
women can own, operated and orchestrate a production on their own.
And while
Brazen was still in rehearsal, Aleya Kassam and Sitawa Namwalie also found time
to co-write and stage ‘Love, Loss and Discovery’ in Loresho for one night.
The day
after Zippy went on stage, June Gachui and Patricia Kihoro costarred at the
Arboretum in the improve-comedy show, Because You Said So
Aleya and Sitawa
And just a
few days before Zippy opened, having not only scripted, produced and directed
her one-woman show, Mbeki Mwalimu also opened with the theatre troupe that
she’d assembled, produced and directed, called ‘Back to Basics’. Mbeki’s choice
of script, by Justin Miriichi entitled ‘Legally Insane’ was very well done. But
the storyline ended up being way too misogynous for me. The mother (Wanjiku
Mbuno) got blamed for everything, which I didn’t think was fair, especially as
Gilbert Lukalia’s crazy patriarch was a wife beater.
In Zippy’s
woeful story about her former spouse, Ricky is also a wife-beater as we learned
in graphic detail in part one of her ‘Diary’. In part two, Ricky hangs on in
spite our belief that Zippy freed herself from this useless man in the first
segment of her saga.
Zippy has
promised to bring us further installments from her ‘Diary’ in months to come.
One only hopes Ricky is ousted for good since this otherwise strong,
resourceful woman, sends an unfortunate message to other women.
Zippy’s
one-woman shows are surely autobiographical, which is why we can applaud the
achievement that she spells out as her story unfolds. But her confessions of
ongoing abuse by that man makes us hope she genuinely moves on and eliminates
him from her life once and for all.
Meanwhile,
Mshai Mwangola-Githongo and Mueni Lundi will join with Aghan Odero tomorrow at
the Point Zero Coffee House where their Performance Collective will continue dramatizing
portions of Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi’s award-winning novel, Kintu from 11am.
Andrea Moraa (who owns PZC with Wangeci Gitobu) will also tell fascinating
tales about Kenyan coffee.
By
Margaretta wa Gacheru
Zippy Okoth
joins an esteemed assemblage of Kenyan women who are taking their place and
even taking the lead on the Kenyan theatre scene. With her chapter two of the ‘Diary
of a Divorced Woman’, staged last weekend at Kenya National Theatre, her
‘Silence Voices’ came in the wake of ‘The Brazen Edition’ of Too Early for
Birds, which featured an all-female cast and crew and illustrated how Kenyan
women can own, operated and orchestrate a production on their own.
And while
Brazen was still in rehearsal, Aleya Kassam and Sitawa Namwalie also found time
to co-write and stage ‘Love, Loss and Discovery’ in Loresho for one night.
The day
after Zippy went on stage, June Gachui and Patricia Kihoro costarred at the
Arboredum in the improve-comedy show, Because You Said So.
And just a
few days before Zippy opened, having not only scripted, produced and directed
her one-woman show, Mbeki Mwalimu also opened with the theatre troupe that
she’d assembled, produced and directed, called ‘Back to Basics’. Mbeki’s choice
of script, by Justin Miriichi entitled ‘Legally Insane’ was very well done. But
the storyline ended up being way too misogynous for me. The mother (Wanjiku
Mbuno) got blamed for everything, which I didn’t think was fair, especially as
Gilbert Lukalia’s crazy patriarch was a wife beater.
In Zippy’s
woeful story about her former spouse, Ricky is also a wife-beater as we learned
in graphic detail in part one of her ‘Diary’. In part two, Ricky hangs on in
spite our belief that Zippy freed herself from this useless man in the first
segment of her saga.
Zippy has
promised to bring us further installments from her ‘Diary’ in months to come.
One only hopes Ricky is ousted for good since this otherwise strong,
resourceful woman, sends an unfortunate message to other women.
Zippy’s
one-woman shows are surely autobiographical, which is why we can applaud the
achievement that she spells out as her story unfolds. But her confessions of
ongoing abuse by that man makes us hope she genuinely moves on and eliminates
him from her life once and for all.
Meanwhile,
Mshai Mwangola-Githongo and Mueni Lundi will join with Aghan Odero tomorrow at
the Point Zero Coffee House where their Performance Collective will continue dramatizing
portions of Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi’s award-winning novel, Kintu from 11am.
Andrea Moraa (who owns PZC with Wangeci Gitobu) will also tell fascinating
tales about Kenyan coffee.
WOMEN TAKE
CENTRE STAGE ON NAIROBI’S THEATRE SCENE
By
Margaretta wa Gacheru
Zippy Okoth
joins an esteemed assemblage of Kenyan women who are taking their place and
even taking the lead on the Kenyan theatre scene. With her chapter two of the ‘Diary
of a Divorced Woman’, staged last weekend at Kenya National Theatre, her
‘Silence Voices’ came in the wake of ‘The Brazen Edition’ of Too Early for
Birds, which featured an all-female cast and crew and illustrated how Kenyan
women can own, operated and orchestrate a production on their own.
And while
Brazen was still in rehearsal, Aleya Kassam and Sitawa Namwalie also found time
to co-write and stage ‘Love, Loss and Discovery’ in Loresho for one night.
The day
after Zippy went on stage, June Gachui and Patricia Kihoro costarred at the
Arboredum in the improve-comedy show, Because You Said So.
And just a
few days before Zippy opened, having not only scripted, produced and directed
her one-woman show, Mbeki Mwalimu also opened with the theatre troupe that
she’d assembled, produced and directed, called ‘Back to Basics’. Mbeki’s choice
of script, by Justin Miriichi entitled ‘Legally Insane’ was very well done. But
the storyline ended up being way too misogynous for me. The mother (Wanjiku
Mbuno) got blamed for everything, which I didn’t think was fair, especially as
Gilbert Lukalia’s crazy patriarch was a wife beater.
In Zippy’s
woeful story about her former spouse, Ricky is also a wife-beater as we learned
in graphic detail in part one of her ‘Diary’. In part two, Ricky hangs on in
spite our belief that Zippy freed herself from this useless man in the first
segment of her saga.
Zippy has
promised to bring us further installments from her ‘Diary’ in months to come.
One only hopes Ricky is ousted for good since this otherwise strong,
resourceful woman, sends an unfortunate message to other women.
Zippy’s
one-woman shows are surely autobiographical, which is why we can applaud the
achievement that she spells out as her story unfolds. But her confessions of
ongoing abuse by that man makes us hope she genuinely moves on and eliminates
him from her life once and for all.
Meanwhile,
Mshai Mwangola-Githongo and Mueni Lundi will join with Aghan Odero tomorrow at
the Point Zero Coffee House where their Performance Collective will continue dramatizing
portions of Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi’s award-winning novel, Kintu from 11am.
Andrea Moraa (who owns PZC with Wangeci Gitobu) will also tell fascinating
tales about Kenyan coffee.
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