Governor (Moris Mucheru) and his wife Melissa (Fiona Kaitesi, centre) hand out fake title deeds to his constituents in stealthy land grab. PHOTO | MARGARETTA WA GACHERU
One might assume the Chatterbox Players are a new theatre company since they weren’t performing at the most popular Nairobi venues until last weekend when they staged Makofi ya Kilo at Alliance Francaise.
But according to the group’s founder, J.J. Jumbi that assumption is false. Chatterbox productions, many of which were based on original scripts by Jumbi himself, were staged for several years at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).
“Occasionally we’d bring our shows to the Kenya National Theatre, but as we were all students at JKUAT, that’s where we mainly performed,” said Jumbi who graduated with a degree in Engineering seven years ago.
Admitting that Chatterbox had been silent since graduation due to the exigencies of everyday life, Jumbi just couldn’t keep quiet any longer and thus, he recently called all his cast, crew and musicians to help him revive the Players.
I for one am glad he did since I was pleasantly stunned by the polished showmanship of Makofi ya Kilo. From the acting to the choreography to the timing and talent of the live musicians, Jumbi’s team performed one of the most well-rehearsed and vibrant productions I have seen in a long time.
But what may have been the best part of the Chatterbox package was Jumbi’s script which was fresh, original and amusing political satire.
Lambasting everyone from senior government officials and their corrupting cronies to the second tier so-called ‘first ladies’ to wananchi who are so easily swayed by the showmanship and cash of local ‘Big Men’ like Governor Majuma (Moris Mucheru) and his Chairman (Vince Matinde).
Makofi ya Kilo is about everything from sycophancy to treachery among ambitious underlings looking for quick cash. It’s also about idealism and a humble ‘everyman’ named Soja whose job is being an askari (watchman) for the high-class estate where the Governor and his power-hungry wife Melissa (Fiona Kaitebi) stay.
The tension in the story revolves around Melissa who as chairperson of the estate’s residents association decides the workers can no longer come to work with their jerry cans to collect water since their ‘slum’ doesn’t have tapped water.
Soja’s the one assigned to keep all the jerry cans out of the estate, causing riots among the workers and rousing Soja to launch a fight for clean leadership.
Melissa’s arbitrary edict nearly upsets the Governor and Chairman’s land-grabbing scheme, but the Chairman is just too shrewd an operator and the Governor is such a slick showman that the local people are taken in, tricked and turned against Soja who tries to rally them to his fight.
It’s an ingenious story which hits home for Kenyans who’ve seen both schemers and dreamers in their midst almost everyday in the media and in real life.
Jumbi’s reassembling his cast, musicians and crew was equally impressive, especially as so many years have elapsed since they worked together. But that feat not only reflects Jumbi’s theatrical leadership but also the hunger of talented thespians to get back on stage irrespective of what’s on in their personal and professional lives.
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