Exposing the sin city that is ‘Nairobbery’

Kenya: Before her mother opens the door, Chippy (Mwajuma Bahati) hides ashtrays and bottles of alcohol from the previous night house party. She welcomes her mother (Maryanne Nungo) who had been discharged from hospital. Chippy had paid for her mother’s hospital bills among other expenses. A career-oriented woman, she is planning to quit her job since her personal businesses are looking up.  However, she has no plans of getting a man even as she is almost hitting 30 and not her mother’s prodding can change her mind. This play, Modern African Woman, written by Valentine Njoroge and directed by Hawa Essuman, got the message directly home on the rise of the independent woman who chooses to ride on the single lane.

Another play, 24th Floor, tells the story of existence of women thugs who break into homes. The play, written by Andia Kisia and directed by Anthony Tosh Ndungu, also explores the theme of homosexuality. A man (Joe Kinyua) was robbed in his own home by two girls, Y (Mwajuma Bahati) and X (Terry Awiti). The two intimidate him for the better part of the night and seize everything he owns.  Then later on, X insists she wants to know the man’s girlfriend and they realise at the end of the play that the man is a homosexual.

The last play shown that night was Tony Mochama’s Percy’s Killer Party. It was a dedication to Mercy Keino, a university student who mysteriously died after attending a party in 2012. In the play, Percy (Mwajuma Bahati) and her five friends attend a party organised at a house owned by politician Fogotho (Joe Kinyua). He is with his friend, Shabbir (Telly Salvas Otieno). Percy makes a bet with Fogotho to sing the national anthem and after two trials, he succeeds. The bet required the politician part with Sh50,000 if he fails to sing the anthem. If he succeeds the girls give themselves to the two men. Shabbir takes the three girls while Fogotho remains with a drunk and stubborn Percy. He chases her around and Percy accidentally falls down the balcony.

The three plays were shown last week to a packed Goethe Institut auditorium. Together with three other plays, Billy Kahora’s The committee, Parselelo Kantai’s I Just Got Back, and Kevin Mwachiro’s Thrashed, they had a premier performance on the rooftop terrace of PAWA254, with the aim of showing the Nairobi’s skyline, some months back.  The six plays were later compiled to a book titled Six and the City, and under the Contact Book series.

The theatre project organised by Goethe Institut last year in partnership with Stephan Bruckmeier, was set to show the obscurity of Nairobi city through the short pieces, in what was to be a combination of literature and performance art. Former Goethe Institut Director Johannes Nossfeld got the six writers together to produce these urban-focused stories in March last year. Their goal was attained as modern issues of sugar daddies preying on university students, homosexuality, and insecurity was drawn to attention.

“We all had one goal of telling it with no holds barred, writing without inhibitions or self-editing. For me, I wanted the play to be really cold and for the audience to feel the thrill of the chill. There was a subtle shift and it was just not about drinking throughout the play.  As the sun begins to set, the mood gets darker. That is Nairobi,” says Tony Mochama.

He adds: “Nairobi is a socially crazy place. There are places that nothing ever happens worth writing about, but in Nairobi you can create a million stories just by reading the newspapers and I find that inspirational.

Like all the writers, Billy Kahora highlighted how Nairobi is reinventing itself with new stories coming up. He mentioned that Nairobi is very different from other cities and has created its own world different from the rest of the country.

“The plays are very educative and highlights the problems such as drug abuse, immorality, poverty leading to insecurity and corruption. These problems are happening in Kenya, especially Nairobi, and the concept was brought out well,” says Joseph Kwatemba, an actor and part of the audience.

Percy’s Killer Party will be performed again in Bayreuth, Bavaria, Germany for the Beak Sas Africa festival on June 28. The performance will be in German.