Anne Kamau as Mama Sofia sings next to Sarah Mwikali as Agnes in How Dearly I Hate You; left Ivy Wanjiku as Tabitha being grabbed by Roger (Bilal Wanjau) in A Plan of Action. PHOTO | MARGARETTA WA GACHERU
I wonder how many local theatre enthusiasts would say Heartstrings Kenya is the theatre group that best reflects everyday life in Kenya.
Some people complain their shows are too light and frothy, raucous, outrageous and even add “mindless”.
But why is it that so many Kenyans come to every Heartstrings performance? Could it be that there’s something more to their rapid-fire, rib-tickling jokes than just crazy tales? Couldn’t it be that the public identifies with those “crazy” stories since they come straight out of everyday experiences?
This past week (straight through the weekend), Heartstrings’ newly-devised comedy, How Dearly I Hate You once again attracted a full house with those coming at the last minute getting their hearts broken when they could not get a seat.
And once again, the show was raucous, inappropriate and outrageous funny as one young couple fought like cats and dogs up until the bitter end. Jacqueline (Bernice Nthenya) never wanted to marry Ochillo (Dennis Ochieng’) but her father made her do it.
But she doesn’t let either man have the last word. She’s defiant and determined to resist and oppose Ochillo at every turn. She won’t cook his favourite foods (not even tea), clean his house (boxes from the wedding three years before are still stacked around their apartment) or even sew a button on his unironed shirt.
If she sounds like a horrible woman, she’d be happy to hear since she openly admits preparing to poison the man; that’s how much she hates him.
Ochillo doesn’t take her verbal and physical abuse lying down. He continues to demand that she fulfil her wifely duties but to no avail. In three years, Jacqueline hasn’t even fulfilled her conjugal duties once, which her mother-in-law isn’t happy about.
Not that Mama Ochillo knows she doesn’t have grandchildren because of Jacqueline’s obstinacy. In fact, she blames her son and sounds as if she’s more of a mother to Jackie than Ochillo.
How Heartstrings makes this husband-bashing story a hilarious romp has as much to do with Ochillo’s retaliatory style as to his wife’s single-minded mean heart. The two have chemistry and their shouting matches are so over-the-top, you can hardly believe the two are serious, but they are.
In a sense, Jackie serves as a voice for the voiceless, meaning all those young helpless women and girls who get married off or thrown into servitude (either domestic or commercial) without having a choice in the matter.
This is the beauty of Heartstrings. One could easily ignore the feminist element embedded in How Dearly I Hate You, but Jackie is such a stunning character she’s not one usually seen on stage, TV or film.
But Bernice Nthenya has a way of tossing out one-liners that’s as good as any male standup comic. So does Trizah Kabue although she is slightly more caustic.
Anne Kamau is also great at grabbing attention even as she plays the devote Christian Mama Sofia who specialises in singing off key and baking wedding cakes.
In fact, Heartstrings is one of the few theatre companies around that shamelessly draws upon its actresses’ strengths and consistently gives them roles as powerful women whose comedic value is without a doubt.
When the news of Ochillo’s demise reaches the group preparing a wedding set to take place that very day, the eulogies come flying hard and fast, and, once again, one sees why Heartstrings is so loved. Again, they are shameless true to form as they speak lies in praise of Ochillo for what a great man he was. Even Jacqueline gets in the act.
The unexpected twist at the end is again, typically Heartstrings and something that leaves one with belly laughs as the joke is always a surprise (unless you are good at second-guessing director Sammy Mwangi).
I won’t tell you what it is since Heartstrings intends to bring Hate back early next month.
Meanwhile, Phoenix Players also has strong women in the cast of their latest show, A Plan of Action, which opened last Friday night and runs for three weeks at Professional Centre.
Fortunately, the show which is a light-hearted romantic comedy, also has strong male actors (as does Heartstrings). However, the chief strategist and planner is young Tabitha aka Tabby (Ivy Wanjiru) who shares an antipathy for her mother Samantha’s (Joyce Musoke) new boyfriend Roger (Bilal Wanau) which is comparable to Roger’s son Liam (Yusuf Angasa) who also can’t stand Tabby’s mom.
Like Heartstring’s comedy, there’s a message embedded in A Plan of Action, and it’s related to the problems endured by children of broken homes. Tabby masterminds a brilliant plan which is great fun, but it backfires. So the kids have to regroup and devise a new plan which leads to romance all around.
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