The Village Musical Takes Us Back in Time to Jerusalem, in Kenya

Whoever said that the visual arts is dying in Kenya hasn’t paid a visit to the vibrant showcases at venues such as the Kenya National Theatre, the Professional Centre and Alliance Francaise. One of the theatre companies that stands out to us happens to be Kijiji Entertainment, the creators of the famous Village musicals that grab all the attention around the Easter Season in Nairobi.

A Village Musical has in the past been featured on television for an entire act, as well as been held at Mavuno Church’s Ufungamano branch, but to say that they have gotten better at their craft would be an understatement.

This past weekend, Kijiji teamed up with Multichoice Kenya to bring ‘Gangsters Paradise: A Village Musical’,  an adaptation of the period around 30 AD when Jesus Christ literally shook down the foundations of Jerusalem with the christianity that He spread. The show was directed by Mugambi Nthiga with the story written by Elsaphan Njora, Tina Nduba, Yafesi Musoke, Dorris Mayoli and Kaima Mwiti.

The hosts of the event were none other than Kenyan gospel artist Kanji Mbugua and One FM Presenter Marcus Olang’ with original music composed by Aaron Rimbui and Kanji Mbugua. If the rehearsals were anything to go by, this would be an amazing experience, as the talented performers prepared their moves and lines to an (almost) empty Braeside Auditorium.

The Auditorium before the performance

We bundled ourselves out of the area just before the designated start time to catch some of the snacks that were on offer towards the entrance to the auditorium. A red carpet had been splashed out and branding adequately done in the short time we had taken inside. The snacks were at surprisingly affordable prices, not what most Nairobians are used to at recent so called ‘premium’ events. A ticket to this play cost Kshs. 800.

Finally the sizeable crowd was ushered in and the auditorium had virtually been transformed into a more conducive and ‘theatrical’ setting: darker shades splashed around, reduced lighting and the drawn velvet drapes that covered the stage.

The witty pair that is Marcus and Kanji took to the stage and with their usual charming nature, welcomed the audience and gave the necessary credits to sponsors and the cast and crew. The musical then promptly began at about 7.00pm.

The lighting was incredible, with shades of red, blue and green slapdashed against the conservatively styled backdrop of the stage, at desired intervals. The band that played the live music was well hidden from view, though the tunes that were churned out were unmistakably catchy, unique and pleasant to the ear. After the preceding solo performance of about ten minutes, the drapes were drawn back and the audience introduced to the ‘citizens’ of Jerusalem, singing about their life on the streets and all the daily happenings.

A scene from Gangsters Paradise

One couldn’t help but be entranced by the masterfully written piece that fused Michael Jackson lyrics and beats with the rapidly unfolding events on stage, as the residents of Jerusalem asked themselves ‘Who’s that man’ who was changing their city as they knew it.

Powerful vocals by the cast only served to enrich the developments as the audience was taken through the life of an ancient brothel in the times of Jesus Christ, as the ‘ladies of the night’ tried to convince us that theres really is a respectable profession and one which men couldn’t do without.

The interludes were satisfactorily filled with muscial compositions churned out by the invisible band, as the set was altered at strategic times in the play. We delved into the hardships that the poor experienced as well as took a peek at a family of thieves that thrived off the earnings of unsuspecting citizens.

The highly original background stories in the end fused to each of the characters lives being affected by the Saviour, as the entire city acknowledged that times had indeed changed. Even the pharisees and the Roman guards were in agreement that everything was indeed different since the new man had checked in.

The audience

The fast paced action on set reached a crescendo when what seemed to be the favourite charcaters to the audience, the thieves, finally faced the music. The tempo overwhelmingly slowed down for Gangsters Paradise from then on, but we applaud the efforts of the creator, as the mood finally shifted to a day of reckoning for the cast.

Generally, the script quality was amazing, with witty lines thrown in and great original music turning scenes into animated delights. As the cast took their bow at its culmination, we were in agreement that this was indeed another success for ‘A Village Musical’