Heartstrings comedy a big hit with theatregoers

Boss (seated) charmed by Charles pretending to be Cyprian’s (left) wife. PHOTO | MARGARETTA WA GACHERU 

By MARGARETTA WA GACHERU

Heartstrings Kenya once again proved themselves to be masters of physical comedy with last week’s production of Wife Begins with Dinner, starting with Cyprian Osoro’s rigorous exercise workout that was energising, accelerating and an excellent warm-up to a highly animated and witty show.

It’s an apparently fluff story about the hazards, pitfalls and liabilities of the ‘come-we-stay’ style of coupling that’s so popular among young Kenyans today. It’s a hoot of a high-energy comedy that puts the would-be ‘husband’ Cyprian in the thick of a make-believe matrimonial mess.

He’s a supervisor in a company whose boss intends to come see him at home, supposedly for a simple get-together but really to inspect the ‘moral uprightness’ of his manager since his rule is all his supervisors must be legally married.

Of course, Cyprian is not. His live-in honey Helen (Marclyn Adhiambo) has been with him for two years, so when he ‘pops the question’, she goes wild with glee.

When he finally gets around to explaining she’ll only be a wife while the boss is around, she gets even wilder with rage, roaring out of Cyprian’s control and taking flight with a finality that drives him to seek help from his grass cutter Charles (Victor Nyaata) who has a huge catalog of women who could be candidates for a would-be wife.

Unfortunately, none of them pan out, so when the boss (Stephen Mwangi) finally arrives, Charles tries to save the day by cross-dressing as a girl and claiming to be Cyprian’s wife.

Charles is another uncontrollable character who drives Cyprian nuts, since he’d nearly resigned himself to getting the sack for violating the boss’ moral code.

He’d even resorted to asking the office secretary Rachel (Nimo Wairimu) to come be his wife-for-a-day, but to no avail.

The hilarity shifts into a high pitch after Helen’s sudden return followed by Rachel’s, both women having had second thoughts about Cyprian’s proposal and were now prepared to play the game.

But none of it works out. It’s an impossible game for Cyprian to win since all three ‘wives’ show up in time for the boss to see the ruse and instantly sack the fake spouse and former supervisor.

The tables get turned around however, first when the boss tries to seduce Charles who goes bonkers, not so much because the boss is trying to sexually harass Cyprian’s ‘wife’, but because he’s emphatically straight, meaning he’d never allow sexual contact with another man.

But that’s just the first round of last-minute mayhem. The second comes when Helen arrives and blasts the boss’s wife (Carolyn Njeri) for being a prostitute who’s invaded ‘her’ house.

Then when Rachel, the secretary arrives and suddenly cuddles up with her ‘hubby’ Cyprian, the guy’s goose is cooked completely.

The big twist in the story comes when Rachel accuses the supposedly high-minded boss of sexually assaulting her some months before. She even has photos (flashed for us on Alliance Francaise’s cinema screen) to prove her allegation after which the story ends inconclusively.

The boss gets ‘fired’ (in Donald Trump style) by Charles, the grass cutter. But when the (invisible) curtain comes down on the show, nobody knows if Cyprian gets his job back or if he and Helen get hitched or if Charles retains his job after antagonising Cyprian so seriously with his cross-dressing antics.

Either way, Wife Begins with Dinner once again illustrates Heartstrings’ winning formula of combining social commentary, physical comedy and a cast that has a flare for Sammy Mwangi’s style of flamboyant and highly improvised shows.

There was a moment during their last performance however when part of the cast, specifically Charles and Rachel, tripped up on their lines, broke out of character, and went slightly slapstick.

But it was okay since the show was almost done, and their quibble over pronunciation was good fun, but their slip up served to show how challenging it must be to keep a straight face while acting in a Heartstrings’ comedy.

Meanwhile, the Ongea East African Music Summit opened Thursday at Sarit Centre where groups from all over the region will be performing night and day through this coming Sunday, January 31.

Among the Kenyans performing will be Sauti Sol, Suzanne Owiyo, Makedam and many others. But musicians who’ve come all the way from Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia and Uganda as well as Nairobi residents like Denise Gordon from the US and Wanny Angerer from Hondures will also be performing.

Finally, a number of set texts will be staged beginning this coming Monday morning at the Liberty Education Centre in Pangani. Among them will be an adaptation of Margaret Ogola’s The River and the Source.

margaretta.gacheru@gmail.com