By
Margaretta wa Gacheru (Posted 9 April 2019)
Son of Man
is a promising new theatre troupe that already has a following, plus an
able-bodied playwright-producer in Mavin Kibicho who wrote ‘The Lady in Red’
especially for his company.
The play,
which was staged last Sunday at Kenya National Theatre, explores the sensitive
subject of religion. Set in the heart of a Muslim home, Ousmane (Makovo Mbatha)
is a university student with a romantic spirit and poetic soul. Yet he comes
from a strict Muslim family where non-Muslims are not welcome. That doesn’t stop
him from finding a new girlfriend on campus who happens to be Christian. So you
can be sure it’s his romantic rebellion that is at the crux of the play’s conflict,
which never gets resolved.
Cast of Son of Man's The Lady in Red
Ousmane
tries to lead a double life, being a good Muslim as he still lives at home with
his pious parents, but being a poet and a free spirit when he’s out and about. At
home, he’s constrained by a mother (Boera Bisiera) who’s a terrible busy body
who won’t even allow her son to use the loo without interrupting his privacy. That’s
the opening scene, which would seem to be a peculiar way to start off a play.
But apparently, it’s meant to foreshadow the way the mum’s intrusive style will
have a catalytic effect, blasting open her son’s double life.
Ousmane’s
old girlfriend, Oleymatai (Samba Zaddock) is a good Muslim girl and the mother’s
preference. She’s also intent of keeping her claws in Ousmane. But to him, she’s
a nuisance. Now he only has eyes for Eva (Naomi Mburuh), the beautiful
half-caste girl from France.
By the time
Eva arrives on the scene, she has missed Ousmane who’s not home since he never
got the message she was coming. He might have waylaid her if he had. But Oleymata[ms1]
steals his phone, reads Eva’s texts and is hell-bent on getting this new girl out
of Ousmane’s life for good.
Pregnant mothers in labor with no beds and no assistance in public hospital in 'For Better or Worse'
This is
where the play gets ‘bloody’ (in a metaphorical sense). Eva only finds Oleymata
at Ousmane’s house when she arrives. Not knowing only Muslims are welcome there,
she allows herself to be taken in by Oleymata who’s a serious schemer. As she
pretends to be Ousmane’s sister, she exploits Eva’s naivete and makes her look
like a sacrificial lamb who’ll soon be slaughtered if she doesn’t get out in
good time. Eva is unaware that she’s in danger, especially from Oleymata who
insists on getting the inside scoop on the new affair. Eva foolishly tells her
just enough to enflame Oleymata’s heart.
The climax
comes when Ousmane, the parents and the two girlfriends converge in the family
sitting room. Before anyone knows what’s up, Oleymata takes charge, spewing out
a mixture of truth and lies that both incenses the parents and wounds Eva who
feels betrayed and heartbroken. But she’s smart enough to before things get
seriously ‘bloody’.
Kaboom! That’s
how the play ends. Not that it feels concluded. Kibicho leaves us hanging
without any sort of resolution. But maybe that’s his message.
In any case,
‘Lady in Red’ wasn’t the only show last weekend that went in for the ‘cliff hanger’. Even Heartstrings’ comedy-drama,
‘For Better or Worse’ ended with a similar sort of inconclusive bang.
Designed to
tell several stories in this four-act show, the one unifying thread seems to
come out in the last explosive soliloquy of the bride-to-be who blasts her
mercenary family for being just as money-minded and corrupt as the society as a
whole.
The first
two acts have a common thread as they are both set in a maternity ward, where
one father (Paul Ogola) is forced to ‘steal’ his newborn from hospital since
the bill far beyond his means. He’s caught as he slips past the pregnant women
who, despite being in or nearly in labor, have to stand unattended since no
beds are available.
The tragic
truth about Kenya’s public health care services is followed by another
tragicomic scene in a school classroom where kids are either left unattended or
berated by a dysfunctional teacher (Cyrian Osoro) who should never have been
allowed near a classroom.
The final scene
takes us back to the village where one family is demanding an exorbitant dowry.
This incenses the bride-to-be who blasts her people for being as heartless and
corrupt as the rest of society.
Then, Kaboom.
Play over. Was it too much to ask that the various plot threads be woven
together in a concluding style? So it would seem.
No comments:
Post a Comment