STRATHMORE DRAMATISTS LOVE G.B. SHAW

By Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted 12.3.23) Strathmore Drama Club has an affinity for plays, especially satires by the Nobel prize-winning Irish playwright, critic, and social activist, George Bernard Shaw. Shaw may be best known for plays like My Fair Lady and Pygmalion. But all his works are thought-provoking and relevant to our times. The play the drama club chose to stage last weekend, Major Barbara was especially challenging as it addressed a whole range of provocative themes, everything from poverty and philanthropy, idealism and realism, charity and religion, and even militarism versus mediation. Scripted and staged first in 1902, the play retains its relevance, especially as Kenya and the continent as a whole have been inundated with philanthropic groups coming to serve or save impoverished people. Yet they rarely see the broader picture which Shah aims to subtly show. It is that philanthropy is contingent of the wealth generated from the extraction by the rich countries of the poor ones’ raw materials in the South. They don’t bring trade, only aid which does nothing to eradicate poverty. In Barbara’s case, her father is a billionaire, not because he extracts wealth directly, but he sells weapons everywhere wars are being fought, usually over who controls land where the raw materials are coming from. Barbara abhors war and her father’s business. Her response is to join the charity, the Salvation Army, and to work hard to ‘save souls’ from their suffering. She has been so diligent that she’s been rapidly promoted to the rank of Major. Barbara (played powerfully by Venerva Gichio) is the embodiment of idealism. She believes in what she’s doing and doesn’t want a penny from her father, Umkala (Eric Francis), even when he comes to see her and offers her cash to help the struggling Salvation Army pay its bills. To her, her father’s wealth is tainted by the blood shed with the arms he sells. But her radical idealism isn’t shared by her boss, Mrs Banes (Ivy Nguijo), who readily accepts Umkala’s offer to give the Army a million shillings since she knows her church won’t survive otherwise. Banes’ willingness to compromise Salvation Army’s values shocks Barbara to the core. But it also raises her father’s appreciation of her determination to be true to herself and consistent in carrying out the work she wants to do. He’d seen all this when he came to visit her and watch the way she handled her ‘clients’, including one angry man, Bill Wakito (Gideon Maritim) who beat two women outside Salvation Army headquarters. Barbara tamed him, and seemed to virtually cast out the demons that were making him so violent towards women. The incident impressed her father, who had never seen his daughter in action before. The insight he gained eventually helped resolve an apparently intractable problem at home. Barbara’s mother (Joy Orino) had five kids before she and Umkala divorced, and now she wants to ensure the family fortune stays with their family. She wants Umkala to hand over the munitions factory to their son, Stephen (Dan Kaleuru). Umkala believes Stephen is not fit to do the job. He quietly admits to his dad, he never wanted it anyway as he’s an artist, not an engineer. But now, Umkala has seen that Barbara could run the factory if he could persuade her to do so. That’s quite unlikely. However, her dilemma is now with her fiancé, Adolphus Chacha (Justin Mwanzio) who shows himself to be an ordinary opportunist who joined Salvation Army just to get close to Barbara. All his high-minded talk to her was his way of wooing her into becoming his wife. Having been disillusioned by the church, Barbara now reflects on the fiancé. Is he any better than the other men she has met? In one regard, yes. He actually loves her. So, in the end, Umkala chooses to leave his factory in the hands of Adolphus and Barbara. Surprisingly, she does not raise a complaint about the idea of her man taking charge of the munitions business. Apparently, her idealism has been brought down to earth after she has seen how well her father takes care of his workers. Or perhaps she has decided she can save souls inside the factory as well as out. Or maybe she has become as amoral as her dad. Shah allows us to figure that out for ourselves. Meanwhile, the drama club created fabulous sets, although their overhead lights were a bit too bright and acoustics could be improved. But over all, it was an outstanding performance.