African Twist Review; A Play About Malaika by Fadhili Williams and Kenya's Music History

I'll say it and get it over with; I've never attended a play before this, but I'd say this was the best one to start with because it got me hooked! Did you watch the stage production by Ketebul Music; African Twist at Alliance Francaise over the weekend? We did, and we loved it enough to talk about it on the Mid-Morning Crisis on Monday and write about it here. It talks about the politics of the day during the composition and recording of the epic Kenyan song Malaika. Whether you saw the play or not, you can read this review and tell us whether it's a hit or a miss because opinions are sometimes valid :)

A Lively Start

The play started on a high note with a dance to some lively music from the 60's, with the narrator (Abu Njuru) setting the stage for what to expect during the show. He said that while he would bring up politics, this was not just another political play, and he was right. We see how, sadly, politics can't be avoided entirely since it's ridiculously invasive and impacts the general mood in the air at all points in time. Fadhili William (played by Samson Omondi) and the other early Kenyan musicians had several run-ins with the law and competing musicians. It got to the point where the original composer of Malaika, Grant Charo (played by Steve Ng'ang'a), was alt+deleted by Amazon Meja (played by Kieran Ratanya 'Popo') a few scenes in...

Spoiler, I'm sorry/you're welcome :)

Kieran 'Popo' nailed everything about the greedy, heartless businessman, from his appearance to his tone of voice when he talks. He was believably fluent in capitalism, so the audience really hated him, which means that he did a great job. I may get all over the place in this review, so let me say right now that each actor was amazing and played their role perfectly.

Open Scene One

The opening scene is at an entertainment spot where three gentlemen are discussing their plans once Kenya is granted freedom owing to rumors in the air. The three are Fadhili William, Grant Charo, and guitarist Fundi Konde who went on to create a world-known song (a few, actually) that put Kenya on the international map (Malaika). Work, entertainment, politics, and more, there's a lot to discuss and the conversation gets lively. When they mention the Kapenguria Six, an older drunk army man at the counter chimes in and everyone's on the same page for a moment. The three later throw him out so that the ladies coming into the club can get a cozy spot, so much for fraternizing in a club.

A news update on the radio breaks up this discussion when the presenter says that the government has put more restrictions in place. This takes the conversation in a different direction and after some more opinions and jokes, the three head off with plans to work on their music in the future. Charo, who says that "amekuwa kwa upishi wa maandishi" tries to share the song he's been working on with the team but they think it's all funny, which to be fair is framed humorously.

There are some shenanigans and the news of Kenya's freedom breaks out, which sparks obvious joy and an uplifted general mood. The joy and celebrations are cut short by a tragedy when Charo meets an unexpected end in an accident. The friends are noticeably sadder after the event, which is to be expected. And I'm done stating obvious facts for today.

The Plot, Plots

We're taken to a scene at Equator Sound Studios with Fadhili Williams. There's plenty of banter at this point, with Jack (played by Brian Gaitan), the drunk and reformed convict in the play, showing up with ever-increasing precision. This sparks talk that he's stalking the musical trio, but that's more banter than accusation. Anyway, a producer comes in talking about his ambition to mix various African sounds that were trending at the time. He had the knowledge, the passion, and the means to have dreams like this, as well as the sheer American-ness.

There's a discussion about forming a band with the Daudi Kabaka (Ojwang Airo), and this leads to the inevitable discussion of how their composer, Charo, is sadly deceased. Things get a bit more technical and there are questions about royalty payments and more. There are a number of new ideas thrown around that could help put the Kenyan music industry at the time on the fast track to success.

Amazon Meja, the well-fed businessman dabbling in politics who can see a bright future as one of the 'elite Kenyans of the new age,' also has some input to share. He boasts of having connections with the government of the day and calls Fadhili a starving artist (no surprise here that this was a fact, smh). The reason why Meja picks on the musician is because he's interested in the lady Malkia with whom Fadhili is chatting at the joint.

And Now, It Thickens (The Plot, Obviously)

Turns out that the businessman, Meja Amazon (there's just something about this name, isn't there...?) has a lot more at stake than earlier implied in the random lashing out at Fadhili. He approaches Jack with a proposal to hurt Fadhili so as to send him a message. The sneaky guy resists at first but agrees after he's given a tantalizing downpayment of about 300/=

Love demands to be acknowledged when it exists, and there's room for it in this play. We're taken to "Mtego Wa Panya" where Fadhili is wooing the object of his (and Meja Amazon's) affection(s), Malkia. Despite laying on the romance thick with a box of chocolates, Malkia tells Fadhili that it may be best for them to go their separate ways. She says that Meja is a dangerous man who won't stop at anything to get what he wants.

There's some back-and-forth on this as Fadhili doesn't currently have the pocket change to buy fear. Eventually, the conversation goes back to who the original composer of the fast-rising song Malaika is. Fadhili elaborates that it wasn't the Tanzanian Abdul Salim but his now late friend Charo, who they talked about warmly. Malaika says her goodbyes and Fadhili hangs back, but as he's getting ready to leave, Jack the drunk comes up to him and engages him in some conversation. When Fadhili starts to get impatient, Jack tells Fadhili that Meja has a bounty on his head, but that he has an idea to hit two birds with one stone.

In the next scene, we learn that there are a few people who are actively trying to lay claim to this amazing hit song, but a lot is going on in this scene because it's in a club (where we ALL fam). For a brief moment, we're thrown back into the heart of politics with a radio update of Pio Gama Pinto's assassination. This comes right after a new lady musician, Fadhili's sister Esther John(played by Isabella Moraa) is introduced to the stage to sing a song she's composed.

Finally!

Sneaky, drunk Jack approaches Fadhili once again in the next scene, talking about a bright idea that he has. He wants Fadhili to get him their studio recorder, which was a massive piece of work at the time. Fadhili is skeptical and says that he can't very well trust him as he has a reputation and might already have a buyer for it lined up. Fadhili thinks about the proposal for some time as the scene closes.

It's revealed that Jack actually lived up to the reform or something since he recorded Meja Amazon as he talked about what he wanted to be done to the musician. He also recorded him boasting of other hits that he's authorized, and this is enough to get him sentenced for what should be a significant length of time. It's in a club so there's plenty of witnesses and the case should be easy from this point on. We learn that Meja started out as a boxer in Kaloleni and then moved on into entertainment and business.

My Thoughts for Pennies

There were several reasons why this play blew us all away, and one of these is how fire the set design was. Honestly, if they see this, kudos! Makeup was also amazing, painting each actor in the best possible light. Talking about light, the team behind the lighting did a stellar job, never missing a beat. Do I really need to tell you that this means dimming and brightening the lights on cue and on the beat? Anyway there were different lights to create the various spaces, for example, green light was used in Meja's scenes, blue was used for Club Mambo scenes, purple light for Equator Sound Studio, and so on. The costumer was also on point, nailing the outfits and changing details like the ladies wearing pants towards the end to show that times had indeed changed.

The entire team was impressive, but I have to applaud Gaitan, the drunk who served us all a surprise in the end by being one of the good guys after all. He electrified the mood with a dance, not to mention the comedic interjections that he sprinkled throughout his performance.

We enjoyed the beautiful mix of the old and new in terms of common slang and general humor and got to see that banter as we know it has always existed, especially in creative spaces. We also see some possible scenes of when these well-loved artists were younger, which probably makes it easier for the younger crowd to relate with them as they hear the music that set the foundation for the music industry in Kenya.  I'll say real quick that there's room for growth and creativity so that we have more "African Twists" and fewer crime dramas.

Written by Paul Kelemba and produced by Tavu Osusa with the production managed by Karimi Njagi, this was an epic play and I feel lucky that this was my introduction to theatre. Take a look at more images and videos below, and Kenya's pop culture and theatre community, hoyeeee!

A scene at the club with some industry heads

A scene where Grant Charo sings for his friends

A scene with Charo recording "Malaika"

A scene of one of Jack's side quests