By
Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted 9 October 2019)
It’s fascinating
that while the two plays staged last weekend, namely ‘Cat and Mouse’ and ‘All I
ever wanted’ are very different scripts, they ironically have much in common.
Both performed to packed-houses, Heartstrings’ ‘CaM’ at Nairobi Cinema, Hearts
of Art’s ‘AIEW’ at Braeburn Theatre.
Both have at
their emotional core a teenage girl sent home from school, not because she’s a
bad student. Her perceived misconduct is the consequence of family pressures
resulting from differences between her parents.
In ‘Cat and
Mouse’, the parents have split and she (Bernice Nthenya) is left with her
wayward mom (Mackrine Andala). Other issues are raised, including a horrible
education system that leaves not only students in the dust but teachers
ignorant of the ever-changing curriculum so they con their kids as a
consequence.
Heartstrings
has little sympathy for teachers whom they showcase as either buffoons,
tricksters, tyrants or all three. It’s the bursar (Jerry Mokua) who is the most
brutal towards children, especially towards our girl whose mom’s neglect is
manifest in her failing to pay school fees. That is why the girl gets sent
home.
In Hearts of
Art, the young girl, Tricia (Suzzie Joanitah) also has grievances with parents
who don’t get along. In both plays, the parental issue relates (as usual) to infidelity.
In Heartstrings, it was the mom who got caught cheating by the dad (Sammy
Mwangi).
In ‘All I
ever wanted’, the philanderer is Judge Harvey (Sam Psenjin) who’s had an affair
with one of the advocates, Laura (Ellsey Okatch) whose cases often end up in
his court. After his wife (Grace Waihuini) finds out, he tries to make amends
for the sake of his kids, but the wife doesn’t let him forget.
Their
arguments disturb the girl terribly, leading her to send her dad anonymous Biblical
text messages castigating him for his sin of infidelity. He believes they are
sent by the wife, so before he learns the truth, he says he’s given up trying
to make their marriage work.
When he
makes one last half-hearted effort to return home, he finds they are all gone
and he’s alone. Except for Laura who’s been waiting in the wings to snatch the
man for herself.
Ultimately,
the judge supposedly maintains his integrity rather than compromise it when
threatened by the Mafia-like Special Agent (Ramsay Njire). But he apparently caves
in when it comes to his personal life.
Fortunately,
Tricia makes amends with her mom which somehow fulfills the sentiment expressed
in the show’s title, ‘All I ever wanted’. It was a parent’s love.
Heartstrings’
girl also gets that parental love, although hers comes from her dad, as she
announces over social media, one of the sub-themes of both plays. For in
addition to the theme of bad parenting causing countless social problems, both scripts
highlight the all-pervasive and obsessive nature of social media, digital technology,
and how they damage human relationships which have largely been replaced by the
cell phone.
The best
evidence of the damage social media can do comes in Walter Sitati’s script
where a young woman (Ann Wanjiku) is charged with killing her mom. She had been
lost in her cell phone, so when it died, she mindlessly unplugged her mom’s
life-support system in order to recharge her phone. She apparently had no
malice, only ignorance of the consequences of her actions. The Judge finds her
guilty as charged; not even her clever advocate (Sitati) can save her from a 15-year
jail sentence without a cell phone. The jail term being less of a torture to
her than life without her precious smart phone.
The case of
the heart-broken lover (Allan Sifuna) who takes his ex-lover (Azziad Nasenya)
to court gets resolved once she remembers his sweetness and readily dumps her
social media-obsessed boyfriend (Rextone Saul), Judge Harvey’s son on the spot.
But the most
political case facing the Judge, and the one that gets the local Mafia after
him, is that of the dissident woman (Traci Amadi) who has good reasons for not
paying her taxes and refusing to take part in the census count and registering
for Huduma Namba since they are all related to a corrupt political system that gives
politicians free reign to exploit ordinary people rather than serve them like
good public servant should do.
In end both
plays leave us disillusioned but sadly more aware of how far some Kenyans have
gotten off the track of caring for others and instead, serving themselves.
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