Getting to Ngara to watch Theresia Kyalo’s Mgeni Experience is already an immersion in itself. Weaving through Nairobi's Globe Cinema roundabout onto Kirinyaga Road and then Ngara in rush hour traffic, avoiding matatus and motorbikes with cursing passengers is a hustle.
One that requires getting used to it, but if you’re a fan of the Kenyan art scene, I would urge you to do so quickly. Ngara is Nairobi’s designated Creative District, and it already shows.
You are greeted by an open mic session at Geco Central’s location, which opens the Sarakasi Dome and at the far end, stand-up comedy is happening at Soma Nami.
The creative space has not yet come together; the businesses below are still being used as warehouses, but it will only be a matter of time before the space gets its new owners, the creative community in Kenya.
Mgeni Experience is happening somewhere in the middle of this – at Kali Works, which is one of Ngara’s newest hangouts. It’s a hidden gem accessed via a strongman’s gate and up a flight of stairs at the very end of an open courtyard downstairs. You see the wear and tear of the building, but this is what makes it lovely to look at, a gem in history.
Theresia Kyalo’s fame lies not in theatrical experiences but in jewellery, textile and other media. Her name was mentioned in Beyonce Knowles’ directory of Black Owned Businesses back in 2020, and her work featured at the V & A London Museum as part of the African Fashion exhibition, among others.
Theresia conceptualised the Mgeni (Kiswahili for guest) Experience out of her own ethnographical study of what a visitor’s experience is. Her work in textile design, which she calls her first love, reminded her of the embroidery sets that were brought out when visitors called, a norm in every Kenyan home back then.
While this is slowly shifting, thanks to our dwindling hospitality, but also an awareness that tomorrow never comes, so use it today, the mgeni experience remains one of cultural study.
Theresia, who is a multi-disciplinary artist, came up with the idea of an immersive experience where she would showcase her work, create a theatrical experience and a food fiesta in one. Esther Kamba was the playwright and producer who conceptualised the evening’s 30-minute show before a small audience.
Through mime, with a narrator taking us through the action in the small space, Esther cleverly curated a piece which left the minimalist audience reliving the experience in their own way.
Authur Muiruri is the mgeni at Jeritah Mwake and Neema Wanjiku’s home. The scene opens with the all too familiar bustle of preparing the home for a visitor, cleaning up and hiding elements you would not want them to see.
Hospitality is served, but what happens when the mgeni crosses his threshold, and his presence becoming a threat in itself to his hosts? What happens when mgeni is hostile, when the sacredness of the space is broken by his intrusion into sacred rooms like the inner sanctuaries?
Obel Joseph punctuates his narration to the sound of the kalimba, which produces a lovely sound matching the emotions evoked around the room. Mime is a powerful theatrical expression that forces one to interact with the artists’ faces, hands, and their movements in the silence of the act.
Neema Wanjiku’s emotions were evoking; she aptly plays one of the hosts horrified by the intrusion of the visitor who has clearly surpassed his liberties.
The connotation of mgeni was debated long after the short play had been staged. There is a mgeni, a stranger’s experience in every space conceivable.
One may find oneself a stranger in one’s own country due to the cultural, political or social leanings. You don’t abide by the backhanded ways of dealing in business and politics? Mgeni. You have an accent? Mgeni. You struggle with social interactions and choose a life of your own? Mgeni.
Or as Theresa aptly pointed out, a first-time mother is also a mgeni, in her own body first during the pregnancy and later when she’s nursing the same baby in her arms.
The Mgeni Experience will show on Saturday, July 12 at Kali Works. Beginning with a brunch at the venue, and I am told the food is really good there.
There will be an embroidery workshop at 2pm, with the culmination of the show later that evening at 7pm. Theresia's art pieces are on sale at the venue this week, and one can grab a trinket or other items for their home.
