Arts

Theatre, interactive art promise busy weekend

queen

Beauty Queen Contestants in Esther the Musical. PHOTO | MARGARETTA WA GACHERU

The Heartstrings Theatre Troupe has shifted its performances from Alliance Francaise to Nairobi Cinema starting this weekend. There will be shows at 5pm and 7pm, and one imagines the company moved to have more space for its ever-expanding fan-base.

Heartstrings do not give advance notice of what their comedies are about. But one can be sure there will be lots of references to local politics and local social media-mania. At the same time, the troupe’s director, Sammy Mwangi, keeps the themes not just timely but attuned to larger global trends.

The other production of the upcoming weekend will be Sunday when the new theatre troupe, Son of Man, will stage Marvin Kibicho’s drama, The Lady in Red at Kenya National Theatre’s smaller stage. That show will be staged at 3pm and 6pm.

Then next weekend, thespian Julisa Rowe will be back in action directing Esther the Musical for Potterhouse School, Runda. Set to be staged at the Braeburn Theatre in Garden Estate, the musical will run from Friday through Sunday featuring five performances.

Queen of Persia

It is based on the Biblical story of Esther who becomes Queen of Persia, but cannot remain silent while her Hebrew people are suffering. It is a passionate tale, one of the most thrilling feminist stories in the Bible. With Davina Voi, 15, cast in the title role and more than 60 performers, Dr Rowe has had a major challenge theatre-wise. But she is a skilled professional who was last seen on stage in the moving production, Night, Mother.

Finally, there will be a number of performance art programmes opening in Nairobi this weekend. They include photographer Osborne Macharia sharing ‘Seven Years of Afro-Futurism’ at Alliance Francaise tonight.

Graffiti artists BSQ, Kirosh, Swift and others will be at BSQ’s interactive exhibition inside their Kenya Railway car which they transformed into a graffiti artists’ studio.

The show opens at 11am, but graffiti performances will be on all day and into the night.