2014 witnesses explosion in theatre performances

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Heartstrings Kenya’s crew in Kenya Made in China. The group has attracted a loyal crowd year round with their creative and original comedic plays. PHOTO | MARGARETTA WA GACHERU 

By MARGARETTA WA GACHERU

In Summary

• One of the important features of the local theatre landscape is the growing number of script writers.

The year 2014 has witnessed an explosion of the theatre scene in Kenya as powerful performances have drawn increasing numbers of appreciative audiences.

Theatre troupes like Heartstrings Kenya and Festival of Creative Arts consistently performed to full-house crowds, scores of whom didn’t mind standing in long lines to see the comedy shows usually staged at the Alliance Francaise.

Phoenix Players is the one company that staged at least one new production every month. The Theatre Company has also been active, either running training courses or staging shows like Muthoni Garland’s Attack of the Shidas all over the country.

But what’s been really exciting to see in 2014 is all the new and independent groups cropping up to stage original works – rather than indigenised versions of British or American comedies.

These included shows like Sitawa Namwalie’s Silence is a Woman, Patricia Kihoro’s Life in the Single Lane (which she originally co-authored with Seth Busolo), Checkmate Mido’s Hero Ololosokion, Sibi Okumu’s Elements, Hope Theatre Nairobi’s Water and Weaving Pan Africanism by a brand new theatre group called the Weaving Women Collective.

These were just a few of the original scripts that I saw this past year which confirmed that theatre in Kenya is thriving. Several new troupes also got off the ground, including Dorothy Ghettuba’s Spielworks Stage and Rogers Otieno’s Interacteam.

But perhaps the most extraordinary performance phenomenon that has grown by leaps and bounds this past year is spoken word shows. Young Kenyans’ fascination with poetry took off initially when Kwani? launched its open mic series a few years back.

But since then, Pawa254 has become the most consistent scene for watching and taking part in spoken word performances. Fatuma’s Voice runs every weekend and attracts huge crowds, many of whom relish the opportunity to stand up and perform. Then there’s the Kenyan Poets Lounge, the Poetry Hub and several other spoken word venues.

At the same time, we have seen much more theatre staged in local languages, including lots more standup comedy performed mostly in Dholuo or Kikuyu.

One of the important features of the local theatre landscape is the growing number of script writers. John Sibi-Okumu is our leading light in this regard, with his recent staging of Kaggia at Phoenix Players, becoming the first play to focus on a Kenyan hero since Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Micere Mugo wrote The Trial of Dedan Kimathi nearly four decades ago.

But then, writers like Rogers Otieno (My Moving Home), Brian Munene (Roots of Shame, Seeds of Pain), Sitawa Namwalie (Silence is a Woman), Seth Busolo (Borrowed Life & City Dads), Steve Muturi (Joy to the World) and even Patricia Kihoro (Life in the Single Lane) are scribes to be acknowledged and encouraged for the originality and artistry of their scripts.

There were several revivals of scripts that haven’t been seen for quite some time, including Kuldip Sondhi’s Beach Access, Theatre Company’s Githaa, Eve Eisler’s Vagina Monologues, George Bernard Shaw’s Getting Married staged by Strathmore Drama Society and even Braeburn Players’ Christmas pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk.

There were also lots more experimental efforts this year than in the past. For instance, Mugambi Nthiga’s Westgate Memorial performance was poignant and thought-provoking; the Weaver Women Collective’s Weaving Pan-Africanism also raised a lot of probing issues as did Silence is a Woman.

While the bulk of Nairobi’s theatre goers got stuck seeing mostly light and laughable escapist comedy, there was also lots of theatre that was both entertaining and hard hitting as it addressed topical issues, everything from human rights (Accidental Death of a Terrorist at Phoenix) to violence against women (Heartstrings’ Kenya Made in China).

There were also heartaches this past year, including the demise of Derrick Amunga, one of the most charismatic comedic actors. But there was also exciting news in the final hours of the year when the Ministry of Culture and Kenya Cultural Centre announced the renovation of the Kenya National Theatre, to be completed by March this coming year.