McMillan Library by night with the Book Bunk
By
Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted 13 June 2018)
Of all
places, McMillan Library was the site for high drama last Thursday night. It
was a mix of comedy, satire and song blended with a healthy infusion of
participatory theatre.
There was
one other essential element to the night, which had been choreographed by the
Book Bunk, the NGO recently founded by Angela Wachuka and Shiro Koinange to
renovate and refurbish the colonial vestige called McMillan Library. That
element was the data these two
illustrious women had to collect just to begin planning the process of
renovation.
Both Wachuka
and Shiro have been book lovers from early on. But it was a stroke of mad
genius for them to come up with the idea of rejuvenating one of Nairobi’s
oldest and best-constructed bluestone buildings, including its two library
extensions, one in Kaloleni the other in Makadara.
Lighting up
the pillared and ‘lionized’ front entrance of the Library with an alternating
purple and green glow, the Book Bunk team escorted guests all around McMillan’s
interior which was still stacked with piles of papers, dusty folders and old
books few of which were by African writers.
The shortage
of African lit in the library was fully explained when Bryan Ngartia and Eddie
Kagure of the theatrical team, ‘Too Early for Birds’, gave a rousing rendition
of McMillan Library history, curated by Story Zetu. It had been built in memory
of Sir William Northrup McMillan by his widow back in 1931, designed to cater
for a strictly European readership.
But to prove
the Library’s worth saving, Wachuka and Shiro had to collect empirical data to
illustrate that Kenyans currently use the three spaces in substantial numbers.
Their data’s so impressive they managed to get Goethe Institute involved in the
process, including sending McMillan’s Chief Librarian, Jacob Ananda, to study the
library system in Germany.
Eric
Wainaina also entertained a library-full of guests with songs from his
forthcoming album, ‘Dreams in Stereo’, after which Sheba Hirst introduced
members of the Library staff as well as senior members of Nairobi County
government. The County folk had been given a green light from Governor Sonko to
sign on with the Book Bunk project.
Meanwhile, Samosa
Festival also had its drama last Sunday when Zahid Rajan invited Aleya Kassam to
perform her sassy poem, ‘The 44th Tribe.’ (Aleya also performed last
night with Sitawa Namwalie in ‘Love, Loss and Discovery’ which they co-wrote.)
Aleya was part of the festival preview that will include an open-mic, films, fascinating
forums, puppetry and flavorful theatre by Hearts of Art who will perform this Sunday
in ‘All I ever Wanted’ at the Alchemist.
Last
weekend, Hearts of Art performed another one of Walter Sitati’s plays. They’d
staged ‘What Can’t Kill You’ at PAWA254 several weeks ago, but were called back
by the public who’d heard about the writer’s salty satire.
Sitati hits
on everything from the media to the millennials to permissive, yet over-protective
mum’s like the one played by Ellsey Adhiambo Okatch whose daughter, bratty
Boitumelo (Abigail Were) grew up to be a thoughtless, adult brat (Pauline
Kyalo). The one discerning insight the daughter has in the play is when she
identifies her mother as the one who rendered her useless due to the mum’s lack
of enforced discipline.
For a writer
who’s never worked in the media, Sitati has immense insight into how they
operate. He also portrays the complicated relationship between parents and
private school heads with acuity. Even his take on nepotism and the way it can
kill an organization’s success is explored as both bosses (Ellsey and Walter)
at the ‘Stinging Tongue’ magazine hire their relations to the detriment of the
magazine.
Finally,
these past two nights at Braeburn Theatre, John Sibi Okumo again directed
‘Constellations’ costarring Silvia Cassini and Philip Coulson. My copy will go
to press before I see the show again. But I know they had to bring back the
play this week after seating got filled for all of last week’s shows.
Word had gotten round that ‘Constellations’ is
a show that not only sold out seats in London and New York. It’s also one of
the most charming and enlightening scripts to be staged here in recent times.
For it’s not often that theoretical physics, leave alone the science of
beekeeping, are tantalizing topics found in the same story. Constellations is a
sweet love story besides. Here’s hoping they stage ‘Constellations’ one more
time.
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