Sarafina: Apartheid play draws parallel with Kenya's GenZ protests fuelled by the new colonisers

The gods of theatre had their gaze on the crew and cast of Nairobi Performing Arts Studio (NPAS) for their third run at Sarafina musical at Kenya National Theatre.

The show is about a series of demonstrations and protests led by black school children in South Africa during apartheid that began on June 16, 1976, to protest the introduction of Afrikaans, considered by many blacks as the "language of the oppressor", as the medium of instruction in schools.

They were met with fierce police brutality, and many shot and killed.

The show is staged against the backdrop of Kenya's anti-Finance Bill 2024 protests and online campaigns that stem from the ruling class’ misuse of national resources.

What was led by the country’s Gen Z has been taken up by the millenials, fueled by reports of abductions, arrests and forced disappearance of dissenters as the government tries to find “the financers” of the agitation for accountability.

“We were supposed to do it last October, but the theatre was closed for refurbishment. We didn’t plan it this way; it’s just the way it happened,” said NPAS and show director, Stuart Nash on the timing.

Having started on August 15 and running till August 25, if it had come out in October last year, the crowds would have shown up, but there wouldn't have been much attachment to the production other than that we've all watched the film in our households over the decades.

It was more tangible now as Kenyan police officers also came down brutally on youth who were armed with nothing more than bottles of water, flags, phones and loud and credible voices of disapproval of the direction their governance is headed.

Those who came to watch the musical talked about leaving the theatre with a “more intense and 3D experience” of the story, but a much different outlook on it.

Stuart said tickets have been going a lot more on show days, easing their worry that the numbers wouldn’t turn up. But the obvious question, once the posters came out, was, “Kenya National Theatre let you stage the show now?”

Playing Mary Masembuko, the teacher in Sarafina’s class, Wakio Mzenge said she doesn’t believe the government was out to “shut us down in different ways of expression”.

“Kenya Cultural Centre has been more supportive, ensuring we have rehearsal space even with the renovations happening.”

Wakio said August has had a lot of shows, including Too early For Birds: Tom Mboya Edition that was sold out, reflecting the atmosphere in the country.

“It’s weird that what happened in South Africa in the 70s is Flashback Friday or TBT. It speaks a lot about our continent, are we progressively moving forward or just running around in circles and going back to our past which was not propelling us? Are we truly independent, or are we still colonised? Is the coloniser the same or do we have new colonisers? And if we have new colonisers, how can we address this differently?” Posed the teacher by profession.

The role allowed her to run to somewhere very comfortable, reliving her days as a teacher at Friends School, Kamusinga. Also, being part of a musical was a first and another attraction for her.

“The demand is to be heard. It is only in being heard that change can be achieved. That spoke very close to my heart, not just in the political arena but in all spheres of our lives.

We need to be bold enough to speak out on the wrongs and, in the same breath, highlight the good things happening around us,” summed Wakio on why she got on board for Sarafina.

Up-and-comer Lorna Lemi played the titular character’s role. A screen, stage and voice actor, who is also a stunt and martial arts performer and coordinator, she auditioned for roles in NPAS’ controversially pulled Shamba la Wanyama and Sarafina on the same day. She got a featured role in the former.

“I don’t think there’s anyone who’s watched the movie who doesn’t want to be her. When I heard, I was going to play Sarafina, I was thrilled. She’s a star, and she wants to be a star. That carries on, throughout the show, until the pain is too much for her to bear,” she said about “the shallow bit”.

“The children who went through what the movie talks about were really strong. You can tell it got to a point where Sarafina, who is very light, hopeful and vouching for people not to do bad things, eventually snapped as everything kept getting worse.

“Which lead to the riots, killing of Constable Sabela and them getting arrested,” she added, saying she respects the performance.

Daniel Lee Hird, who appeared in Aperture Africa’s Theatre Awards Best play of the Year winner The Play That Goes Wrong”, played Lieutenant, the lead bad guy, the white Afrikaans policeman who is heading the police in the story.

He had been approached by Stuart to do the role more than a year ago.

He said, “There are parallels you can draw between what’s going on in Kenya and the story. One thing you’ve got to be careful of is generalising, because of the context of apartheid is very different.”

Other cast members include fan-favourite Hellen Mtawali as Sarafina’s mum. Her witty one-liners that threw in words like “Anguka Nayo”, “Gen Z” and other pop references had the crowds bursting with laughter amidst the sometimes-pensive scenes she appeared in. Not forgetting her big, musical voice that arrests the theatre hall when she sings. Another up-and-comer, Gadwill Odhiambo plays Crocodile.

“You didn’t have a minority white government ruling in Kenya. You have themes of overcontrol by certain individuals and this idea of “power politics”; it’s like democracy is not developing in the right way.

My perspective is there is no credible alternative; in the apartheid era, you had a credible alternative of Nelson Mandela. Find a young politician who can turn the country around and make it fair for everyone; things such as schooling and health care.”

He said the language used by the officer was so coarse that he had to let the director know he wasn’t comfortable saying words with bad connotations.

Daniel, who’s lived in Kenya for three years now, said his friends told him about how Kenyans love the 1992 film and that’s how he bought into it. He has also played the role of a “Kenya Cowboy” (rich descendants of colonialists who stayed after independence, still own vast lands and have dodgy characters) severally, which has made it easier to play Lieutenant.

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