WOMEN TAKE CENTRE STAGE ON NAIROBI’S THEATRE SCENE

By Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted August 15, 2018)

Zippy Okoth joins an esteemed assemblage of Kenyan women who are taking their place and even taking the lead on the Kenyan theatre scene. With her chapter two of the ‘Diary of a Divorced Woman’, staged last weekend at Kenya National Theatre, her ‘Silence Voices’ came in the wake of ‘The Brazen Edition’ of Too Early for Birds, which featured an all-female cast and crew and illustrated how Kenyan women can own, operated and orchestrate a production on their own.

And while Brazen was still in rehearsal, Aleya Kassam and Sitawa Namwalie also found time to co-write and stage ‘Love, Loss and Discovery’ in Loresho for one night.

The day after Zippy went on stage, June Gachui and Patricia Kihoro costarred at the Arboretum in the improve-comedy show, Because You Said So

                                                                                                  Aleya and Sitawa

And just a few days before Zippy opened, having not only scripted, produced and directed her one-woman show, Mbeki Mwalimu also opened with the theatre troupe that she’d assembled, produced and directed, called ‘Back to Basics’. Mbeki’s choice of script, by Justin Miriichi entitled ‘Legally Insane’ was very well done. But the storyline ended up being way too misogynous for me. The mother (Wanjiku Mbuno) got blamed for everything, which I didn’t think was fair, especially as Gilbert Lukalia’s crazy patriarch was a wife beater.

In Zippy’s woeful story about her former spouse, Ricky is also a wife-beater as we learned in graphic detail in part one of her ‘Diary’. In part two, Ricky hangs on in spite our belief that Zippy freed herself from this useless man in the first segment of her saga.

Zippy has promised to bring us further installments from her ‘Diary’ in months to come. One only hopes Ricky is ousted for good since this otherwise strong, resourceful woman, sends an unfortunate message to other women.

Zippy’s one-woman shows are surely autobiographical, which is why we can applaud the achievement that she spells out as her story unfolds. But her confessions of ongoing abuse by that man makes us hope she genuinely moves on and eliminates him from her life once and for all.

Meanwhile, Mshai Mwangola-Githongo and Mueni Lundi will join with Aghan Odero tomorrow at the Point Zero Coffee House where their Performance Collective will continue dramatizing portions of Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi’s award-winning novel, Kintu from 11am. Andrea Moraa (who owns PZC with Wangeci Gitobu) will also tell fascinating tales about Kenyan coffee.

                             Dr Mshai Mwangola-Githongo at Point Zero Coffee with Dr Wandia Njoya

 WOMEN TAKE CENTRE STAGE ON NAIROBI’S THEATRE SCENE

By Margaretta wa Gacheru

Zippy Okoth joins an esteemed assemblage of Kenyan women who are taking their place and even taking the lead on the Kenyan theatre scene. With her chapter two of the ‘Diary of a Divorced Woman’, staged last weekend at Kenya National Theatre, her ‘Silence Voices’ came in the wake of ‘The Brazen Edition’ of Too Early for Birds, which featured an all-female cast and crew and illustrated how Kenyan women can own, operated and orchestrate a production on their own.

And while Brazen was still in rehearsal, Aleya Kassam and Sitawa Namwalie also found time to co-write and stage ‘Love, Loss and Discovery’ in Loresho for one night.

The day after Zippy went on stage, June Gachui and Patricia Kihoro costarred at the Arboredum in the improve-comedy show, Because You Said So.

And just a few days before Zippy opened, having not only scripted, produced and directed her one-woman show, Mbeki Mwalimu also opened with the theatre troupe that she’d assembled, produced and directed, called ‘Back to Basics’. Mbeki’s choice of script, by Justin Miriichi entitled ‘Legally Insane’ was very well done. But the storyline ended up being way too misogynous for me. The mother (Wanjiku Mbuno) got blamed for everything, which I didn’t think was fair, especially as Gilbert Lukalia’s crazy patriarch was a wife beater.

In Zippy’s woeful story about her former spouse, Ricky is also a wife-beater as we learned in graphic detail in part one of her ‘Diary’. In part two, Ricky hangs on in spite our belief that Zippy freed herself from this useless man in the first segment of her saga.

Zippy has promised to bring us further installments from her ‘Diary’ in months to come. One only hopes Ricky is ousted for good since this otherwise strong, resourceful woman, sends an unfortunate message to other women.

Zippy’s one-woman shows are surely autobiographical, which is why we can applaud the achievement that she spells out as her story unfolds. But her confessions of ongoing abuse by that man makes us hope she genuinely moves on and eliminates him from her life once and for all.

Meanwhile, Mshai Mwangola-Githongo and Mueni Lundi will join with Aghan Odero tomorrow at the Point Zero Coffee House where their Performance Collective will continue dramatizing portions of Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi’s award-winning novel, Kintu from 11am. Andrea Moraa (who owns PZC with Wangeci Gitobu) will also tell fascinating tales about Kenyan coffee.

 WOMEN TAKE CENTRE STAGE ON NAIROBI’S THEATRE SCENE

By Margaretta wa Gacheru

Zippy Okoth joins an esteemed assemblage of Kenyan women who are taking their place and even taking the lead on the Kenyan theatre scene. With her chapter two of the ‘Diary of a Divorced Woman’, staged last weekend at Kenya National Theatre, her ‘Silence Voices’ came in the wake of ‘The Brazen Edition’ of Too Early for Birds, which featured an all-female cast and crew and illustrated how Kenyan women can own, operated and orchestrate a production on their own.

And while Brazen was still in rehearsal, Aleya Kassam and Sitawa Namwalie also found time to co-write and stage ‘Love, Loss and Discovery’ in Loresho for one night.

The day after Zippy went on stage, June Gachui and Patricia Kihoro costarred at the Arboredum in the improve-comedy show, Because You Said So.

And just a few days before Zippy opened, having not only scripted, produced and directed her one-woman show, Mbeki Mwalimu also opened with the theatre troupe that she’d assembled, produced and directed, called ‘Back to Basics’. Mbeki’s choice of script, by Justin Miriichi entitled ‘Legally Insane’ was very well done. But the storyline ended up being way too misogynous for me. The mother (Wanjiku Mbuno) got blamed for everything, which I didn’t think was fair, especially as Gilbert Lukalia’s crazy patriarch was a wife beater.

In Zippy’s woeful story about her former spouse, Ricky is also a wife-beater as we learned in graphic detail in part one of her ‘Diary’. In part two, Ricky hangs on in spite our belief that Zippy freed herself from this useless man in the first segment of her saga.

Zippy has promised to bring us further installments from her ‘Diary’ in months to come. One only hopes Ricky is ousted for good since this otherwise strong, resourceful woman, sends an unfortunate message to other women.

Zippy’s one-woman shows are surely autobiographical, which is why we can applaud the achievement that she spells out as her story unfolds. But her confessions of ongoing abuse by that man makes us hope she genuinely moves on and eliminates him from her life once and for all.

Meanwhile, Mshai Mwangola-Githongo and Mueni Lundi will join with Aghan Odero tomorrow at the Point Zero Coffee House where their Performance Collective will continue dramatizing portions of Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi’s award-winning novel, Kintu from 11am. Andrea Moraa (who owns PZC with Wangeci Gitobu) will also tell fascinating tales about Kenyan coffee.