Kenyan theatre beams with new voices, return of classics in 2025

This year saw the re-staging of several classic works by theatre veterans, introducing a new generation of audiences to these timeless pieces.

There was Picha (1985) by Mohamed Komeja, Kaggia (2014) and Elements (2013) by John-Sibi Okumu, The Trial of Dedan Kimathi (1976) by Ngugi wa Thiong’o, an adaptation of David Maillu’s After 4.3, and Kifo Kisimani by Kithaka wa Mberia.

Seasoned actor Wakio Mzenge has been one of the actors with several productions this year, having acted in Elements, Mgonjwa Mwitu, Ujumbe, and Mtakatifu Bonoko. She says she was honoured to bring back Elements, a one-woman play, on stage this year.

It follows Dana, a successful multi-racial woman who hides her struggles of racism, domestic violence, child sexual abuse, grief, female genital mutilation, and identity issues with a composed demeanour.

Initially, Mzenge directed Stephanie Maseki in her performance at the Little Theatre Club (LTC) in Mombasa in March. Mzenge was later directed by Stuart Nash to star in the same production, which was staged at the McMillan Memorial Library in August.

Two weeks ago, she took it to the Jika International Theatre and Dance Festival in Bloemfontein, South Africa. 

“My honouring of Sibi-Okumu is to show that we stand on the shoulders of giants who did a lot to prepare the theatre for us that we are enjoying right now. I was trying to put him in his rightful place as a playwright, and that is a privilege to appreciate him,” says Mzenge. 

She says there is a well of stories that contemporary artists can tap into and infuse with their own new perspectives.

“How we tell our stories is different from how they told theirs. Now, we tell stories beyond the borders, and we have technology. It is about using their strengths and ours to bring these stories to life,” she says.

Plays based on real-life stories, which were mainly one-handers and two-handers, were showcased on stage, including Ujumbe starring Wakio Mzenge and Sam Psenjen.

It tells a real-life story of how a father’s love pierces through prison walls. Another two-hander, Of Cords and Discord, by Prevail Presents brought back Celestine Gachuhi and Mwikali Mary on stage after many long years.

Fictional one-handers included Mapenzi Mashini by Valentine Zikki, Tea with my Father by Gitura-Kamau, and Shadows by Georgia Lenny, while My Man My Choice by Suki Wanza, Foolish Forties by Dr Zippy Okoth, Miss Understood by Makena Kahuha, and It’s Such a Good Time by Faiz Ouma were based on the actors’ real-life stories.

The latter laid bare personal stories of relationships, struggles of successful women, parent-child conflicts, and the perks and challenges of fatherhood.  

Historical plays filled up auditorium seats, and it proved that audiences are excited to learn about history.

Derrick Waswa of Dorion Production staged Last Spear of the Nandi, a story about Koitalel arap Samoei; Kwa Ndego Productions had Wangu wa Makeri about the first female Kikuyu chief; Nairobi Performing Arts Studio (NPAS) had Kaggia, a play about politician Bildad Kaggia; and Wangari 2.0 was staged by Artspace 254. 

In Mombasa, farces continue to be a recurring genre at the LTC. Pasha Productions presented Abu ‘N’ Wass, a farce adaptation of Funny Money, featuring a seasoned cast list of Hillary Namanje, Ashik Yusuf, Aisha Mwajumlah, and Peter Mbugua.

Through her A Sekiba Empire Production, Stephanie Maseki produced The Criminal Enterprise and Dangerous Divas, starring some of the cast of Abu ‘N’ Wass.

Veteran actor and director Hillary Namanje says that farce adaptations have been catering to audiences who want to go to the theatre only to laugh and not to crack their heads. The funding of the LTC productions by the Goethe Institut saw the staging of Mekatilili and Air 001.

He hopes to train upcoming theatre artists next year to bridge the gap between professional performances and what they are taught in schools.

“We will be training them on how to move away from the overly dramatic acting to fit into the standards of professional theatre,” he says.

The young audiences were also thrilled by children’s musical adaptations of Beauty and the Beast, Mufasa: The Lion King, As You Like It, Moana, Beetlejuice, and Oliver, by Braeburn High School at Braeburn Theatre.

There are a few that were original productions, like The Iron Snake by Youth Theatre Kenya, Zawadi by Kiota School, and Dance Centre Kenya’s ballet performance, The Nutcracker.

Mzenge celebrates the boldness and hard work of female theatre practitioners this year, like Chadota Sandra, who toured Running for My Life, a play by long-distance runner Agnes Tirop, who was a victim of gender-based violence.

Chadota took the play to Kigali, Pakistan, and South Africa.

Nyokabi Macharia marked a decade in the arts with the biographical musical, Index One, directed by Nice Githinji, who also directed Miss Understood. Gathoni Kimuyu shared her story through the play Free Me, while Zippy Okoth with Foolish Forties and Suki Wanza with My Man My Choice. Caroline Adongo made a comeback in the theatre by directing Gitura-Kamau’s Tea with my Father. 

“A lot of women have been taking up space, and that is one of my highlights this year,” says Mzenge.

Vernacular plays were not left behind; just as it happened last year, this one saw a swell of them. The NPAS ran English and Kikuyu versions of Kaggia and The Trial of Dedan Kimathi; Nairobi Ilogo Dichiel, a Luo comedy play starring Nick Kwach, and Athamia Nguhe by Andu A Mumbi Production left the audience in stitches.

Earlier in the year, Horia Mwaki by Andu A Mumbi Production, a Kikuyu romantic comedy, Wendo wa Cebecebe by General Theodore, and Chemoget Muite by Kalenjin Statehouse and Champions Production are some of the productions in local dialects seen on stage.

“The re-emergence of these shows that local languages are growing on stages. And the artists are not using the language to portray mediocrity; they are using it in proper forms,” she says.