Another handshake? No, Igiza show another way in ‘Kneading Needs’

It’s time for theater companies to start taking the problem of web design seriously.

Some have begun to put contemporary art on the walls of their collections. But then, when the scenes change, and yet the art remains the same, it can get confusing if you, as a viewer, are supposed to be in the moment with the cast.

My problem this past weekend was the opening scene of the spoof Egiza Players, kneading needswhich was held at the Kenya Cultural Centre. The artwork on the walls went well with a lot of theatricality as it was mainly placed in the offices of political leaders.

But this opening appears to have taken place in the village where Kibale (Kennedy Kethea) has returned to see his parents after winning the Senate election. The landscape is rustic, even with Kibale’s fresh, optimistic innocence and idealism. But set design is not about the location of the action scene.

In addition, the poverty of Kibale’s parents is exposed by the mother, who reveals that the bank has come to foreclose on their property as they have no means of repaying the loan.

The son reassured her that he would soon receive a salary from the Senate, which he (senior and) would enable him to recover their land. That’s fine, but now, why don’t the producers pay as much attention to fine-tuning the design as they do the acting, lights, and sound?

Otherwise, the story revealed last weekend at the KCC was like a cartoon from Gado, a snapshot of what has been most troubling in Kenyan society lately. But more than that, it takes specific events and weave them all together for us to see a phenomenon like Maandamano within the broader weave of Kenyan politics in real time.

Playwright Sego Nyerere even gave us characters similar to an opposition leader like Raila Odinga in Busisa (Gavan Barasa) and a president like William Ruto in Okozu (Jeff Obonyo).

It also gave us an exemplary young MP like Kibale who is willing to stand with his constituents, the vast majority of Kenyans who need better health care, educational opportunities, jobs, roads, electricity and, above all, better leaders.

Nyerere, the screenwriter, also gave us a woman who might reflect a true, praying believer as Mrs. Ruto in Chief Okozu’s wife, Olwele (Lucy Milka Wangye). One does not know if the First Lady ever spoke as harshly, directly, or critically about her husband’s behavior as Oluyele does in the play.

But if she did, we should consider her the conscience of the nation because Olwele is fierce in her verbal attack on her husband for his thieving ways, ways that rob the Wanshi of the food they need.

One is amazed that the playwright let her stay around and her husband, the Chief, did not throw her out for her straightforward way of seeing him for the ‘sinner’ that he is.

One is also amazed that Oluyele stays with this impostor, but there is only a hint that she actually enjoys sharing the power her husband wields. Doesn’t this also seem self-serving in that she sees the full picture of corruption, but as much as she criticizes him and teaches him that she sees it all, she still won’t walk away?

President Okozu (Jeff Obonia) gets massaged by his wife Olwele (Lucy Wangi) at the Kinding Needs play at the Kenya Cultural Center on June 5, 2023. Photo | Margarita wa Gacchero | NMG

In the end, it is the young deputy who is shot during their maadmanu, and they all assume either that he died in the assault or that he was holding on to life by a thread. Either way, he’s almost gone, leaving the president to believe all of his critics have been silenced, too. He is wrong, of course.

The final scene sees Kibale rising from “the dead,” in this case, a hospital bed, and leading a new revolution for peaceful change. His final speech is powerful and persuasive. He tells the two leaders, Busisa and Okozu, that another negotiated handshake or even a truce is not good enough. It merely indicates that they are willing to share the wealth that should be fairly distributed within the broader community and nation, and not just among themselves.

There are shouts of people right outside, but none of the alleged leaders claim responsibility. So, who could lead them, they ask? That’s when Kibale burst into their room and refused to truce.

The peaceful demonstration he leads is a real revolutionary force. It is non-violent and is meant to indicate that another kind of Maandamano is possible. maybe yes maybe no. We’ll have to wait and see.

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