This coming weekend promises to be an interesting one as we shall see brand new scripts by both Mavin Kibicho who wrote Blood and Roses for Son of Man theatre Productions and Jazz Moll and Lizzie Jago who co-wrote Albatross Wings for Freedom for Youth Theatre Kenya (YTK), who aim to be the best and brightest theatre troupe for youth in Kenya.
For instance, YTK’s current show Albotross Wings includes a mix of youth from ages 9 to 21 and has 63 students in the cast while Son of Man features adults only and a smaller cast.
Albatross Wings is a magical musical that intertwines mythical history with historical fact It also digs deep into Africa’s pre-colonial past and post-colonial present day slavery to illustrate the way the heinous practice flourished during its heyday and those dedicated and fully committed to the task of finishing it were prepared to die to achieve their goal.
Unfortunately, we are told by contemporary researchers that despite slavery being abolished in some parts of the world, elsewhere, it is estimated that it exists among more than 20 million people who still live in conditions of slavery throughout the world, including Africa and Kenya.
Meanwhile, the playwrights of the musical say their play is dedicated to the abolition of slavery and the restoration of freedom. Their musical is set in the late 1880’s in Zanzibar, East Africa where the story follows the epoch struggle to eradicate the ‘black’ market slave trade that is being perpetuated up and down the eastern side of the coast.
The story was inspired by the true and selfless life of Bishop Charles Symthies who came to East Africa with his church’s mission specifically to join the struggle to end slavery for good.
He worked in collaboration with the Royal Navy and a passionate and dedicated group of grassroot people to capture a number of slave boats in an exciting moment when they freed the slaves who weep for the joy in their unexpected turn of events that meant they could go home as free men, women, and even children who’d been on the slave boat, a giant dhow.
And in conformity with the Bishop’s church’s devotion to mercy as well as justice, they reprimanded the slave traders and then took them to a court of law for justice’s sake.
Although the historical aspects of the story are prominent, the theme of of an anti-slavery struggle is just as relevant today as 100 years ago. In that light, the story continues to challenge all of us to play our part since aluta continua as the late Samora Michel of Mozambique used to say, the struggle continues.
YTK’s production of Albatross Wings for Freedom will be staged at Braeburn Theatre Gitanga Road.
Meanwhile, this weekend Mavin Kibicho and his Son of Man company will stage Guns and Roses at Ukumbi Mdogo. In this story, Shalom, our protagonist (Derrick Omondi), is a soldier whose heart is full of hatred for terrorists like Al Shabaab who have invaded his homeland and scared it with their terror and a hatred which is just as impassioned as his own.
Once home, he finds himself entangled in a cruel twist of fate. His girlfriend, Rose, is also a survivor but of a different facet of the same ‘war on terror’ as Shalom painfully endured.
Hers is the horrific 1998 Nairobi bomb blast that killed 12 Americans and more than 100 Kenyan lives. She lived through it but was severely wounded both emotionally and physically. It was the physical wounds that led to her emotional pain when she discovered that as a consequence of being close to the explosion, her womb had been damaged beyond repair.
Thus, their dreams of parenthood were shattered, and they were robbed of a family and a future together.
Meanwhile, Shalom has his own demons to deal with. He is haunted by his personal vendetta and yet also driven by his love for his woman. That disastrous combination leads to his fatalistic decision to go back into the most dangerous battlefield of El Adde in Somalia.
Unbeknownst to him, the General who commands him is a double agent who secretly works for Al Shabaab.
treacherous leader has another secret. His passionate and covetous desire for Shalom’s Rose leads him to orchestrate a phony mission meant to serve as a death trap for Shalom, leaving her to mourn their love lost frorever.
