×
The Standard Group Plc is a multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper print operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The Standard Group is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key influence in matters of national and international interest.
  • Standard Group Plc HQ Office,
  • The Standard Group Center,Mombasa Road.
  • P.O Box 30080-00100,Nairobi, Kenya.
  • Telephone number: 0203222111, 0719012111
  • Email: [email protected]

Comedienne Wilbroda narrates her life journey in comedy

Trendsetters

 

 On any ordinary weekend, Jacqueline Akinyi Nyaminde would love to be herself, walking the streets of Nairobi and shopping at her favourite spots.

“I love going to the flea markets such as Toi and Gikomba but if I do the price is hiked. Sometimes I can go somewhere to escape, still someone will want to take a picture with me or say hi, so I have no privacy,” she says.

Since taking on the role of Wilbroda on Citizen TV comedy show Papa Shirandula, Jacquey has had to adapt to living a public life. Her role, that of a smart-talking wife of a watchman with a heavy Dholuo accent, catapulted her to fame shortly after the show hit the screens almost 10 years ago.

Jacquey doesn’t mind the attention and she is courteous to her fans. However there are some fans who take things a bit far and ask her to speak like Wilbroda. “As an artiste, I cannot walk with the character because I can actually forget who I am, so I have to de-role and when you become a different person from what the fans were expecting, they get offended,” she says.

Jacquey has a wicked sense of humour and is able to crack ribs, on and off stage. “I love to laugh and I love it when the people around me are happy. Friends, enjoy my company because I make them laugh and I like it that way.”

But the crowd-pulling success didn’t always come easily for Jacquey. She confesses that in the beginning, while acting during in school plays, she struggled with the stage.

While everyone acknowledged her talent, they did not cultivate it. “When we were preparing for the drama festivals, we would be rehearsing all the time but once it came to an end that was that. No more practicing. Yet acting like any talent requires nurturing.”

When she was given an opportunity, after high school, to take part in a professional production she screwed up. “It was a play about children’s rights, sponsored by UNICEF and the I was acting in front of over 1,000 people for the first time. I was so nervous that I forgot my lines. The lady I was performing with kept looking at me contemptuously as if to say – ‘your acting career has not even started and you are already messing up!’”

To make matters worse she did not get a single cent. “I asked myself whether I really wanted to act and if the way things had turned out, was indicative of the rest of my life. But at the same time, there was a voice urging me to get back on stage, an urge that I could not resist.”

Jacquey’s parents were saving to send her to nursing school. “To pass time, I would go to the theatre, which was a relief to them because at least I was doing something.

“Unknowingly, the more I went to Kenya National Theatre to act, the deeper my roots sank and the more I realised I couldn’t live without it.”

The only source of anxiety for her parents was getting bus fare. “One time, when I asked for money, my dad opened his wallet and I saw only Sh50. He gave me 25 and remained with 25.”

Luckily, Jacquey soon started getting roles. “I got an opportunity to act in theatrical adaptations of set-books and would make like sh500 then give them Sh200.”

Acting in a variety of stage adaptations, doing four shows a day, gave Jacquey the opportunity she had been looking for, to sharpen her acting skills. “Being on stage is a do-or-die scenario. I had to give my all, so I did everything very well. Also, if you care about your craft, then you will always look for ways to improve the act and come back with a better delivery. That’s what I did.”

Even though she was enjoying acting, like perusing any dream, there was a price to pay. “We would travel to the remotest parts of this country hoping to get 500 school children each paying Sh100, but only 10 would appear with the money, the rest would come with Sh10, eggs, flour, chicken as payment for watching the play. We got stranded several times and we would ask a local church or even the police station for a place to sleep.”

In spite of all the difficulties, as soon as Jacquey came back to Nairobi and was called for another show out of town, she would eagerly pack her bags. “When it is in the blood, you cannot help it,” Jacquey says laughing heartily.

Gradually, she started getting parts in other type of plays. “I did not even have to audition, someone would simply call me with a particular role in mind because they had seen me on stage.”

She worked with several groups – Heartstrings even the legendary Phoenix Players – whose plays she could not afford to watch. “I also started doing a lot of performances in Dholuo and was I always type cast to portray an elderly Luo woman, either a first wife or grandmother. I played those parts very well.”

Then Charles Bukeko wrote the script for Papa Shirandula and Jacquey found out he was looking for a person to act as his wife.

“When I read the script, I started laughing. I saw myself as Wilbroda. I loved the character,” she says. But she never thought the show would run for ten years. “It took about three years for us to get endorsements because, initially, sponsors did not believe they could make money,” she says.

Even though television is now her prime source of income, Jacquey has not forgotten her first love. “I still love the theatre. Late last year, I was in a play titled Edufa which had two runs due to public demand. But I do not act as much as I would like because people assume that since I am on television, I will ask for a lot of  money. I love the rush of adrenaline I get on the stage and it also helps sharpen my skills.”

To avoid being typecast in roles similar as Wilbroda, Jacquey seeks new roles. “When someone calls me to emcee, I tell them that as much as I am dressed like Wilbroda, I want to bring a bit of Jacquey to the show.”

However, Jacquey loves playing Wilbroda so much that she does not see herself ever quitting. “I am constantly finding new ways to improve Wilbroda’s character, so she is not boring. There is always something new to add. An actor never retires. Their last curtain call is when they die.”

Acting in comedy has been greatly beneficial. “I had a very challenging childhood, especially my secondary school years when my parents lost their jobs. Life was hard, we did not even have a bicycle but now I drive a Mercedes Benz. I have even built a house upcountry for my mother. Also, I have met so many people including President Uhuru and the First Lady.”

She also has received endorsements from several companies and she also does emceeing gigs.

“Anything I do on the side is related to acting but one day I would like to open a restaurant because I love cooking and entertaining.”

With such a successful career one would expect Jacquey to be a spendthrift but she is very frugal. “I am always saving, I save a lot and I also invest. This multiple saving technique is a fallback plan from acting.”

Jacquey has a six year old son, Xola, but she does not define herself as a single mother. “I am only a single mum because I live with my son but his dad (Francis Ngira) is his best friend. He supports me financially and we are in it together. When we broke up, there was a lot of bitterness which is normal but now we are good friends and we even go to school functions together.”

Related Topics


.

Similar Articles

.

Recommended Articles