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Ngugi Wa Thiong'o and Kenyan Theatre in Focus a Thesis i NGUGI WA THIONG’O AND KENYAN THEATRE IN FOCUS A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN PERFORMING ARTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NAMIBIA BY S.A. VAN DER SMIT OCTOBER 2007 SUPERVISOR: PROF. ALDO BEHRENS ii ABSTRACT Ngugi wa Thiong’o is known throughout the world for his writing of novels, e.g. Petals of Blood (1977) and critical essays, e.g. Delolonising the Mind (1994). With the writing of The Trail of Dedan Kimathi (1977), in collaboration with Micere Mugo, he became known as a playwright as well. The two community plays, I Will Marry When I Want (1982) and Mother, Sing for Me, brought focus to indigenous Kenyan theatre. They were created and performed by the Kamiriithu-villagers in the theatre they have built themselves, until they were stopped by the government. The provocative I Will Marry When I Want was the cause of Ngugi’s detainment by the Kenyan government. Ngugi used the theatre as a platform for his cultural, social and political utterances in his quest to change the society. Very little was written about Ngugi’s plays. This research intends to study the available sources and his plays carefully to formulate an overall view of the importance of this genre of Ngugi. The content, themes, characters and the indigenous cultural expressions, e.g. songs, dances and mimes will be analysed. As the community and audience involvement played a huge role in Ngugi’s theatre process and performances, they will receive prominent attention. This research project will to investigate the observations of other scholars on African theatre, as well as the different styles of theatre practiced by Ngugi. The research will iii investigate the recurrent themes and explore the influence Ngugi had on the theatre of Kenya. As an activist he propagated a strong message that the masses should unite against the oppression and exploitation by the ruling regime. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements Dedication Declarations Introduction CHAPTER 1: NGUGI WA THIONG’O – AFRICAN PLAYWRIGHT 4 1.1 A historical overview of his life 4 1.2 A change of name 26 1.3 The issue of language 28 1.4 Influences on Ngugi wa Thiong’o 38 1.4.1 Influences on his writing 38 1.4.2 Influences on his theatre practices 48 v 1.5 About his writings 63 1.6 About his co-writers 66 1.6.1 Micere Githae Mugo 67 1.6.2 Ngugi wa Mirii 73 1.7 Kamiriithu Community Educational and Cultural Centre 77 1.8 Detention and exile do not stifle a strong voice 97 CHAPTER 2: NGUGI WA THIONG’O AND THEATRE 104 2.1 What is theatre? 104 2.2 African Theatre 107 2.2.1 Pre-colonial period 109 2.2.2 Colonial period 113 2.2.3 Post-independence period 125 2.2.4. East African theatre 133 2.2.5. Kenyan theatre 136 vi 2.3 Theatre as Ngugi’s weapons in the struggle 150 2.3.1 Development theatre 151 2.3.2 Popular theatre 159 2.3.3 People’s theatre 164 2.3.4 Political theatre 167 2.3.5 Protest theatre 172 2.4 Ngugi wa Thiong’o as theatre practitioner 173 CHAPTER 3: NGUGI WA THIONG’O’S PLAYS 185 3.1 Content 189 3.1.1 The Black Hermit 189 3.1.2 This Time Tomorrow 193 3.1.3 The Wound in the Heart 195 3.1.4 The Rebels 196 3.1.5 The Trail of Dedan Kimathi 197 3.1.6 I Will Marry When I Want 199 3.1.7 Mother, Sing for Me 203 vii 3.2 Structure 206 3.3 Themes 207 3.4 Plots 235 3.5 Characters 236 3.6 Dialogue, songs, dances, mimes, slides, flashbacks and usage of the Bible 255 3.7 Milieu 271 3.8 Stage-ability 284 3.9 Community and audience involvement 286 Conclusion 297 References 301 Addendum 1 Ngugi wa Thiong’o: Awards 323 viii Addendum 2 List of Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s writings 325 Addendum 3 Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s writings 328 ix ACNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis is a result of encountering African writers during my Honors. Ngugi wa Thiong’o made such an impression on me that I directed his play I Will Marry When I Want in 1993 at the University of Namibia with students from UNAM and the Windhoek College of Education. The fascination did not stop there; it resulted in this Masters study. Throughout Prof. Aldo Beherens, my supervisor, was supportive and encouraging in supervising this thesis. He deserves my deepest thanks. I am indebted to him for his assistance, knowledge and positive criticism. His immensely useful advice and direction during the course of this study were invaluable. Without his careful attention the completion of this work would not have been possible. Thank you Mr. Henry Bailey for the editing of this thesis. You are the best. Fellow students Bonny Pereko, Sasha Oliver-Sampson, Norbert van Wyk and Sandy Rudd deserve thanks: the mere fact that I was not the only swimmer in the water made a difference. x I must also acknowledge the stimulating interaction of ideas and passionate support of my Arts colleagues at WCE: Rika Nel, Elna Venter and Erina Junius, and UNAM colleague Laurinda Oliver-Sampson. Danie and Irene Strydom for every bit of practical and emotional support: thank you. You supported and encouraged me all the way. It made the writing of this thesis possible and kept me sane. My late husband, Kowie endured my absence, ranting and ravings for years. He listened to each bit of gained information with great love and less patience. He was however supportive and encouraged me throughout. He would have been proud to see the result of those hours of research. This one is for you. xi In memory of my husband J.P.J. (Kowie) van der Smit 1941 - 2002 xii DECLARATION I, Susanna Aletta van der Smit, declare hereby that this study is a true reflection of my own research, and that this work, or part thereof has not been submitted for a degree in any other institution of higher education. No part of this thesis may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by means (e.g. electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior permission of the author, or The University of Namibia in that behalf. I, Susanna Aletta van der Smit, grant The University of Namibia the right to reproduce this thesis in whole or in part, in any manner or format, which The University of Namibia may deem fit, for any person or institution requiring it for study and research; providing that The University of Namibia shall waive this right if the whole thesis has been or is being published in a manner satisfactory to the University. ……S.. van der Smit…………. Date…October 2007…………. INTRODUCTION xiii “On April 7-9, 1994 over 200 scholars from Africa, Asia, Europe, Canada and the United States gathered at the Penn State Berks Campus in Reading, Pennsylvania, to celebrate the work of Ngugi wa Thiong’o. The presentation of 150 papers, poetry readings …and a reading by Ngugi himself, made this the largest conference ever held to discuss an African writer” Cantalupo 1995: back of cover page). Ngugi wa Thiong’o is a dominant figure in literature: world-renowned for his novels and critical essays. It was however his plays that awoke the longing to explore his work. It became a challenge to discover how Ngugi practiced theatre. He practiced theatre – not professional or amateur theatre: only theatre. This is why this thesis was written: to celebrate Ngugi wa Thiongo’s and his plays. Not because they are literary masterpieces, but because he passionately used them in community theatre to change his society. This study explores the plays’ creators, how they organized their theatre, under which conditions they performed and gave an annalistic view of the plays. The formidable field of African theatre and the different theatre genres were studied as so far it had bearing on Ngugi’s work. As theatre is immediate and able to reach a large audience he used this genre to spread his message. Ngugi brought new life into Kenyan theatre when he practiced revolutionary theatre concepts such as integration of music, dance and traditional forms as story-telling and mime in his theatre. Ngugi’s work reflected two major influences: the traditional African culture and the colonial experience and its aftermath. He argued that African writers should use their xiv indigenous languages when writing, rather than European languages, to build an authentic African literature. The background information on Ngugi and Kenya is crucial to understand Ngugi’s plays and the recurrent themes in the plays. The information was used to establish the importance of certain socio-economic structures for generating specific performances modes. Ngugi is a descendant of Kenyan peasants and these ties bind him to their history. It places him in relationship with his society to whom he has a responsibility. For him it was easy to use his literature for the purpose of political liberation and become involved in community theatre voicing those aspirations. The spelling of Gikuyu was preferred above the spelling Kikuyu; the latter being the usual European way of spelling the word. Ngugi used the form of Gikuyu to refer to the people and language. The spelling of Kimathi was also seen spelled Kimaathi (Detained 1981). The British and United States spelling theatre was used as a matter of personal choice rather than the less formal theater.
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