LAMU SHOW: Thursday, April 1st, 2010.

The boats take an hour to get to Lamu. It’s past one o’clock in the afternoon and the cast and crew are behind schedule. Mkunguni Square is where the cast will be performing for the next two days. The square is named after the big tree that was planted about 200 years ago called Mkungu- Indian Almond. Its scientific name is terminalia catappa. The tree provides a stunning shade and adds aesthetic value to the rare open space. Once the point where the tress grows was the point that water reached from the ocean; today the water has moved back over 300 metres away.
   
The Mkunguni Square is to Lamu what Uhuru Park is to Nairobi. Round the Mkungu tree which grows right next to the stage are benches built of concrete and joined together to form an octagonal shape. It is here at the square where many people gather to rest and chat spending hours on the square. Others take the opportunity to sell edible goods and other items. The square is also a major transit route, traffic here is caused by donkeys, which are the main mode of transport, and men pulling mikokoteni. Unlike Uhuru Park there are only two massive trees on the square and the entire ground is cemented.

The Mkuguni Square is surrounded by several building. Being part of the Old Town most of the buildings here were constructed in the 19th century between 1820 and 1900. Some buildings are still in use but others are just ruins. Standing on the stage built at the far front, one can view the houses on the square. On the left wing of the stage is Fort Lamu commissioned to be built in the year 1812, it was used by the British army to defeat the Sultan of Witu. On the entrance of the fort are two cannons which date back to 1829. The fort is a massive contraction both in height and length after its completion, many other buildings were made close to it due to its protective nature, most of them being businesses and residential houses.
 
On the right arm of the outdoor stage is what, used to be the customs and immigration offices now reduced to a shell of a house. On the windows of this shell, a tree grows all the way from the first floor window to the roof. Apart from the ruins, many government offices provide vital services to the people of Lamu are also built on this wing. Being the side that directly faces the ocean the offices and other privately owned businesses are the first buildings one sees when they come to Lamu.

Once everyone has been acquainted with the stage and before the cast gets on the stage after set up is complete, a music group made up of men playing the coastal music, taarab warms up the crowd. As they play audiences begin to gather on the square one by one, in twos and threes sometimes in groups. The children sit on a mkeka laid next to the stage while the men sit on the walls of the fort and the benches. The women gather in groups next on the stairs of the fort forming a black spot due to their hijabs. It is quite clear from this natural arrangement that men women and children don’t sit together at public events.

The taarab music is well played by the men that some of the audiences get up on the stage and place money on the mouth of the lead singer others in his shirt’s left side pocket. This display is a way of rewarding him for his dazzling music, kutunzwa- to be honored.

Our camera crew asks for permission from the owner of the house that is right behind the stage to take photos and film both the show and its listeners from the balcony of the house. The space between the house and the stage, which is about a metre or two, creates what is the back stage. The view from the balcony is perfect for aerial still shots. The owner gladly allows them to film and even joins them on his balcony to watch the show.

The eyes of the audience follow the cast as they walk from the Lamu Fort, down its stairs on to the square and up the stage. The show begins in front of a huge crowd, the largest crowd that we have encountered. Yet more and more still keep coming in as the show starts.

Every elevated ground on the Mkunguni Square including even the two cannons, is taken up by excited audiences each hoping to observe the action on stage. In front of the stage, all those who were seated on plastic chairs are forced to stand up since people rushed in front of them right next to the stage blocking their view. The little room behind the stage is also occupied and the backdrop that was put behind the musicians slightly removed by the hungry audience.

Shadows of people can also be seen on the windows of the offices located close to the square. At the top most widow of the ruined house, a young lady and a boy hold on to the branches of the tree growing on the widows peeping at the stage. Right below the ruins, on its left, is a gate and at the top of the gate is a boy dressed in a hockey jazzy no. 86 and glued to the show.
 
It is not just the locals who are struggling to get a bit of the action on stage, tourists in the country for the Easter holiday are also at the square. Although the words are spoken in a language they probably don’t understand they still seem to enjoy the show especially so, the music. On the stairs of the fort is an old white lady tapping her feet to the rhythm of the drum beats. Behind the backdrop squeezing with the locals is another white lady trying to imitate the dance moves on stage while taking photos.

As soon as the show begins to gain momentum the first hints of problem occur. Due to the place being a major route for porters and traders the crowd is continuously and annoyingly interrupted. For several times the crowd is displaced and distracted by men pulling carts full of vegetables and other farm produce. The kids seated on the mkeka straw mat are the most affected by this movement and they become extremely hyperactive. Attempts to get them to sit still fail and make matters even worse. The kids are quite noisy and rowdy throughout the show making it difficult for the actors to gauge whether the audience can hear the words of the show. However, thanks to the public address system not all is lost for the audience.

Despite the noisy children, crying babies and men pulling mikokoteni through the space occupied by the audience, the performers still manage to put on an amazing show. The dancers also adapt very quickly to the positioning of the audience. Instead of dancing while facing the front only, they move in such a way that the people standing in the back and sideways can still view the intricate dance moves that tell a story.

Once the show is over the roaring crowd is happy and stays around for the question and answer part. The children stretch their arms each reaching for the microphone dying to make a comment. They ask the cast how to learn the dance moves where they twist their waist line, chakacha dance that is. Roseline, a choreographer and dancer tells them that the best way to learn the dance move is by playing with the hula-hoop. By turning the hula-hoop round and round, the waist line is forced to move and within no time it would be easy to master the chakacha dance. Others in the audience wish to learn the art of performance and through the short interaction with the cast they are given the steps to follow and inspired to discover the artist in them.

Ingar Blomborg, a Swedish tourist on his first visit to Kenya says he was blown away by the performance. “These are the bits of Africa that we want to see, not the misery and desperation that we see on foreign media,” he says. Most African stories shown in the larger world can be summarized into three Ds, Disease, Disaster and Despair. He adds, “This is a much happier Africa that is proud of who they are and what they are doing, rich, beautiful, and contented.”

At about six o’clock the people of Lamu begin to leave for their homes. Few are left as we pack the props and instruments into their specially made bags. It is dark when we board the Maqboul and are taken to Shela for the night by Captain Mohammed. It takes about 30 minutes on the boat and 5 minutes on foot to get to our hotel, Msafini. Before supper Mumbi, thanks everyone for keeping it together and for a good show despite being extremely worn-out by the long journey from Malindi.

It is the first time since the tour of East Africa began that the entire cast and crew are seated together in one room. This is a special moment for Mumbi who took four years to put all the crew and cast in one room for one purpose and definitely a special moment for all of us. She takes this opportunity to ask anyone with any comments or complaint to share them with the others. The only concern raised is that of the tiredness the cast feel when we travel and perform on the same day, especially where towns are far apart from each other.

There are long silences on the table and Mumbi reminds everyone that ‘Tuko zela so changamukeni.’ The awkward silences on the dinner table are broken up when she finally declares, “Lets eat!” The group enjoys the meal prepared by the able kitchen staff at the Msafini then call it a night.

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