The new champions of Kenyan theatre

Every weekend, lovers of theatre go to watch live stage performances in various spaces. In 2024 alone, there were 229 shows, composed of plays, poetry, and stand-up comedies, staged countrywide. 

Driving these numbers are old and new theatre stars and production companies. 

The industry is seeing individual thespians forming theatre companies and collaborating with their peers to make powerful productions. There are also more original plays taking centre stage. 

One such example is Millaz Productions, founded by the recently departed Xavier Jerry Nato in 2017.

The production house prides itself on comedy and issue-based plays that have cast a light on FGM, mental health, and socio-cultural issues that leave the audience entertained and educated.

Millaz Productions CEO Clare Wahome says they intend to stage more comedy plays this year.

“The good thing with art is that we get to communicate messages in subtle ways. We now want to bring back comedy after we took a pause from it to produce plays with serious themes. We want to go back to making people laugh and enjoy the theatre,” says Clare.

Millaz Productions has in the past won Sanaa Theatre Awards and Kenya Theatre Awards, including Best Producer of the Year, Best Lighting, Best Musical Score, and Best Sound Design.

This year, they received nominations for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play (Baraza Major) in Backstreet 2.

“The Kenya Theatre Awards nominations are very competitive. People are upping their game in scripting, costume designing, and set designing. The older generation of theatre artists is coming back to the stage,” says Clare.

Prevail Presents staged five shows in 2023 and two shows last year, an adaptation play, Sanctuary, and the original play Those with Missing Marks Shall Not Graduate, written by Dr Fred Mbogo.

Prevail Presents founder, Martin Kigondu, directed Meetings, a play by John Sibi-Okumu in 2023, African Twist by Ketebul Music, and a storytelling show, Womine, all sold-out shows.

Martin takes notice of emerging playwrights in the theatre art scene who are composing original scripts that speak to the issues of our time. Comic artiste Paul Kelemba, better known as Maddo, made a scriptwriting debut with African Twist in January this year. 

“There is a hunger for locally written productions. Ten or so years ago, I was among the few local writers putting up materials on stage. We are now having newcomers in the playwright circle,” says Martin. 

Martin commends artists for putting on shows despite the economic and political climate. He observes a diversity of works from storytelling, comedy, musicals, dance, poetry, and dramas.

The production company is adapting a two-hander play, Matchstick Men, into a feature film titled Kisiki (Matchstick Men). “The biggest achievement is the consistency and audacity of artists to give the audience different types of shows. Back in 2017, we were one of the few companies doing this,” he says.

Martin also applauds fellow artists for finding innovative ways to merge social media and their craft to be able to fill up shows.

He urges thespians to strengthen the Theatre Producers Guild and increase the number of collaborations. 

Another theatre production making waves after shows is Igiza Arts Production. It staged Threads of Trust at the Kenya National Theatre in the second weekend of February.

Founded in 2017, it has previously presented Flight 1963, The Waiting Room, The Miser, Severed Justice, and Shadows of the Soul to a packed audience.

Chatterbox, famed for the musical play Lwanda Otero, is also generating a buzz in theatre circles.

“We stage musicals that take a lot of effort, preparation, and time to put together. Due to this, we can only do one musical like most theatre companies. We hope to do more when the audience number grows,” says John Jumbi, producer of Chatterbox.

John attributes their success to a talented team that creates high-quality productions in terms of script, music score, set design, costumes, and overall presentation to surpass audiences’ expectations. He pays attention to the growing number of original scripts compared to the former years that had more adaptations staged, adding that “people love to see their own stories.”

John dreams of seeing productions running to a minimum of a month on stage.

“We hope to do a show that lasts more than a weekend but stays for even three months. In my estimation, we currently have an audience of 20,000 people,” he says.

Chatterbox has diversified its portfolio to include films and video shooting for organisations. Last year, they released a feature film, It’s A Free Country, available on Philittv.com.

Chisaina Arts was founded by Victor Muyekwe, who also wears the hat of an assistant scriptwriter and director. Before the production house was developed, Victor was putting out his art under the acting stage name Chisaina when he was a student of Theatre Arts and Film at Kenyatta University.

In 2022, he opened the company. They staged their first commercial show, The Bitter Fruit 1, at Harambee Hall in Kenyatta University the same year.

Victor comments that the industry has witnessed more people working, quality productions, and an improvement in pay. The audience is increasing, but he believes it can do better.

“I think that after the COVID-19 pandemic, artists decided to do more. The entry of the Kenya Theatre Awards woke people up, too,” he says.

And 64 Theatre, based in Eldoret and founded by Cosmas Bii in 2014, has staged more than 20 plays. They registered in 2023 to make it more efficient in establishing spaces for theatre practitioners to practice their craft and to engage with issues affecting the community.

They developed a play, Oret, that spoke about a female athlete who is taken advantage of by her coach. 64 Theatre took it to athletic camps in Iten and Kapsabet.

“We wanted to take it to all athletic camps in Kenya, but we were not able to. The athletic community has understood the significance of theatre as a vehicle to address issues affecting a community. Our quality productions have drawn attention to Eldoret,” he says. 

64 Theatre has also publicised the art of theatre by organising a carnival in the streets of Eldoret.

They staged Kuskong, which translates to ‘Looking Back’, a story set in 1940 Kenya, performed in Mount Elgon in December.

Others are Eulogy of a Neat Man, How to Buy a House in Kitengela, a romantic comedy, The Tailor’s Daughter, and Mukabira.

The production house received four nominations in the Kenya Theatre Awards this year, including Best Director (Cosmas Bii) and Best Breakthrough Male Performer (Samuel Tirop).

The other production companies that are leading the theatre art scene are Too Early for Birds, Heartstrings Entertainment, Andu A Mumbi Production, Chemichemi Players, and Dance Centre Kenya.