“When we were looking for a play to do during this time, it had to be a musical, it had to centre itself around Christmas and most importantly, it had to be family outing friendly,” Stuart says.
“It is about redemption for a guy who is horrible to everybody,” he adds.
In this Christmas musical, the lead act Scrooge is played by Sam Senjen, a seasoned film actor who describes the theatre as his first love.
Scrooge is not only a miser but a leech that sucks life and energy out of people. He is a shrewd shylock unafraid to cut and beat corners, and in a nutshell, he is a mean and bad guy.
The play is about his life's journey from being a runt of society to going through changes in his perspectives. He is visited by three ghosts of the Christmas present, past and future which were sent by his late partner Jacob Marley.
The whole play is about Scrooge seeing the past, the present and the future and making a decision on whether he can change to have a better life, not just for himself but also for other people.
Actors Sam Psenjen (right) and Arthur Sanya Muiruri pose for a picture during rehearsals at the Karen Country Club on November 16, 2024.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
The play credits itself to the spirit of Christmas which is one of joy, generosity and sharing.
“The ghost of the Christmas presents aim is to teach Scrooge to make use of the time that he has. He teaches people to make the best that they have out of life. Christmas is a time of the year when people come together to share; there is food to eat, wine to drink and relatives to be seen.
The ghost of the present's aim is to instil into Scrooge that life is now in the present and value the things that you have. He aims to teach Scrooge to desist from being mean to himself because of experiences that he has gone through and to live in the festive of the moment,” says Arthur Sanya Mwiruri, who plays the Ghost of Christmas Present.
“The musical play is as relevant now as it was during Charles Dickens’ time because of the nature of the season. It talks about journeys whereby some people don’t even have time for Christmas because of the nature of their engagements.
The play reminds us that a bad past should not be the standard definitive of how our lives play out eventually. We should not be known as the kind of people who were always stressed or bore grudges but rather, we should find good ways to cope with our pasts and strive for every day that we are given,” says Arthur.
“Nowadays, holidays and birthdays are expensive but the musical teaches us to make use of the little that we have to spread joy and cheer. Even when you have nothing, say if you are travelling upcountry during the festive season, your presence in itself is a gift,” he adds.
“The spirit of Christmas has been corrupted and commercialised and it shouldn’t be so. In one of the scenes in the musical, there is a family that has very little in terms of material possession but in terms of abundance of joy and cheer, are richly content because they have each other,” notes Sam.
Various thespians taking part in the musical Scrooge participate in rehearsals at the Karen Country Club on November 16, 2024.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
From the play, the audience should expect to love and hate some characters, and enjoy some amazing music.
“It is a good family outing and if possible, people should come with their bosses because there are a few handy lessons about Christmas bonuses,” Arthur says with a laugh.
In describing the best part about his role, Arthur notes that, “the Ghost of the Present is sarcastic witty and comes across as being crazy but this is because he is so charged and all over the place because of life and the season. In all his craziness, he makes sense because he brings in the balance and the high energy. Imagine a happy ghost.”
From Sam, the best bit about his character is the getting to observe a lot in terms of the past, the present and the future.
“In the long run, it helps one reflect about their future.”
“People should expect a really upbeat family musical with a big cast of nearly 40 people and a live musical band,” Stuart says.
