KBL at forefront of renovating Kenya National Theatre

Workers busy at work at the Kenya National Theatre’s upstairs bar in preparation for its re-opening. PHOTOS | MARGARETTA WA GACHERU 

By Margaretta wa Gacheru

In Summary

• The renovated theatre will have state-of-the-art facilities to accommodate all these genres of the performing arts.
• In addition to completing the job, KBL has also constructed two new buildings next to the theatre.

The refurbishing of the Kenya National Theatre (KNT) is about to become the poster child of public-private partnerships in Kenya, thanks to the decision made by the Kenya Breweries board back in late 2013 to get involved in one of the Kenya@50 legacy projects proposed by the Ministry of Sports, Culture and the Arts.

“There were several projects that we had to choose from, but as we went round, it was the National Theatre that had the greatest appeal despite it being the most costly of all the projects proposed,” said Eric Kiniti, director of corporate relations for Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL).

Despite the theatre being in bad shape at the time, Kiniti said KBL wasn’t deterred by its dilapidated look. Instead, they understood the immense role that a refurbished theatre could play, especially in terms of promoting promising young talent, be they thespians, musicians, dancers or even filmmakers.

The renovated theatre will have state-of-the-art facilities to accommodate all these genres of the performing arts. What’s more, he said, KBL has lots of experience promoting the arts and culture.

Take, for instance, the Tusker Project Fame and various other live performances that they have sponsored in venues ranging from the Carnivore and Kenyatta International Convention Centre to Karura Forest and Bomas of Kenya.

Experience and success

With that level of experience and success, KBL figured it could also help ensure KNT re-establish its status at the centre of contemporary culture.

One other reason KBL’s board agreed to commit to the project is because KNT, like the brewer, has been in place for many decades. The theatre is 30 years younger than the brewer since the latter came into being in 1922 while KNT was inaugurated in 1952.

The fact that they are both still around today reflects a continuity that suggests the arts and culture have a promising future. Nonetheless, the decision to sink no less that Sh100 million into refurbishing one of the country’s national landmarks was a major moment for KBL given it had never made such a large community investment before.

The magnitude of the budget is one of the reasons the brewer chose to take full responsibility for the implementation of the project. It’s also the main reason why either Kiniti or his deputy Joseph Sunday have been at the theatre almost every day since the project got off the ground.

“We took over everything, from procurement to tendering for architects, contractors and engineers,” said Sunday.

Symbion was finally chosen to design everything, from the sound and lighting systems to the upstairs bar to the stage, which will have no less than 12 sets of curtains that will be used to re-configure the stage to suit the needs of each performing artist.

All of these renovations are state-of-the-art, according to Kiniti.

“Initially, our timeline for the re-opening was in March, but logistical factors have been a major cause of the delay,” said Kiniti, who anticipates the opening of the refurbished theatre will be sometime this month, depending on the schedule of President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Back in December 2013 when KBL announced it was going to renovate the theatre, the president expressed his wish to be present at the opening event.