DCK TAKES ON OLIVER THE MUSICAL AT NATIONAL THEATRE

By Margaretta wa Gacheru 9posted june 14,2023)

By far, the superstars of Dance Centre Kenya’s first ever musical production, Oliver, were Fagin and Oliver himself. Staged last weekend at Kenya National Theatre, it was as if John Sibi Okumu had been waiting for years to be called up to take on a role that would demand of him as much rigor and wit, character development, and brilliant villainy as was required and which he gave in spades to his performance as Fagin. The master-mind of a child pocketing ring, Fagin is a classic con artist criminal who initially charms his prospective thieves, including Oliver, into learning how to surreptitiously pick people’s pockets both as an initiation and a lifestyle.

On the Gala night of the musical, Fagin’s costume, make up and wig made him virtually unidentifiable. His slimy charm could easily turn into a slap on the spin of a coin, but he didn’t show this tendency to Oliver when they first met. It didn’t take long, however, before Fagin gave one of his under-productive lads a kick in the pants. That was sufficient for Oliver to quickly see that Fagin’s life was not one he wanted to lead or follow. Sibi Okumu told BDLife some three weeks before the Gala that he’d never considered himself to have a singer’s voice but his part was challenging him to find it so he could sing songs like ‘Pick a Pocket’ and ‘Reviewing the Situation’. He wasn’t sure he’d find it at the time. But once the Gala rolled around, he’d found the perfect voice for Fagin to sing those songs with gusto and command.

Meanwhile, the eleven-year-old lad, Abdoulaye Diebate, played the title role of Oliver with surprising poise and resolve. As the humble orphan who knew little to nothing about his family or his past, he was vulnerable to overpowering men like Fagin. But even before him, Mr Bumble (Chris Kamau) at Work House (where all Oliver had asked for was more food; but that was considered so rebellious that it led to his being sold like a slave) and Mr Sowerberry (Alvin Were) were also no good for the boy. But by then, Oliver had learned the art of escape, a handy skill that Abdoulaye mastered fully by the time he met Mr. Brownlow (Ojiambo Ainea) who would turn out to be his actual grandfather.

There were many more marvelous performances in DCK’s first musical. However, there was clear cut need for more rehearsal time, despite the fact that Cooper Rust’s codirectors worked overtime, as Mary Ombaza and Caroline Slot sought to train a company of aspiring ballet dancers to sing and act in ways they may have never considered before. Even veteran actor, director, producer Ian Mbugua came to coach the actors whenever he could. But then, nearly everyone in the cast were taking classes either at DCK or at their respective schools which further complicated the number of hours they all were available to rehearse. Nonetheless, there were a number of other commendable performances, including the female voices as, for example, Mazaruni Khan as Nancy, Njeri Kiereini as Widow Corney, and Karimi Njagi as Mrs. Sowerberry. And having live music to accompany the production was an important addition for Cooper to include, especially as the Safaricom Youth Orchestra was performing under the baton of Levi Wataka. Levi is among a rare breed of Kenyan conductors who have trained with and been mentored by leading conductors in many parts of the world. But again, the orchestra needed to have more rehearsal time with the cast, especially the singers. But the schedule was too tight apparently to squeeze in the time required. But such things as costuming and the double-decker set designs were amazing. One truly got a feel for 19th century European life, especially life among the working class where children were treated as chattel to be bought and sold like cows and goats. But again, there needed to be given more time to technical rehearsals related to sound and lighting. Perhaps that is a problem with Kenya National Theatre which has become an extremely business place in the last few years. During the opening welcome by the show’s Artistic Director and co-founder of DCK, Cooper Rust confessed to her audience that she had directed many ballet productions and understands that procedure like the back of her hand. But this was the first time she had undertaken the production and direction of a musical show. We applaud her for bringing Oliver back on stage and for opening DCK up to new frontiers of artistic expression.