Great Cast no Story

It has been long since I last watched Heartstrings Ensemble on stage. I stopped being an ardent fan when their bedroom farces became repetitive and predictable. The same storyline in which cheating spouses end up meeting  at the end was becoming a drag to me. I was absent for quite a while and when I last tried again, I found they had gotten quite a following and that time I missed a seat. All the shows that weekend were sold out both matinée and evening shows.

However one thing the directors are HE are good at is casting. They get some of the biggest talents in the city. This week they are running Churchil (Dan Ndambuki) concept 'play' called men are from Kenya women are from pluto'. The tittle is juicy and the Churchill brand sold this one so well that they had to do a rerun. However if you are a thespian or if you love the real theater then 'Men are from Kenya ... ' thing is a big waste of your valuable time. The man has cobbled up a few scenarios based largely on stand up comedy about Kenyans and their mannerisms. disjointed scenes with forced jokes about ocampo six, Sammy wanjiru , fuel shortage and anything imaginable in between. Larry Assego does himself a disservice talking funny internet collectibles as a break against darkness as the acts change. Just spitting all manner of nasty insults we only read in pun sites.

Bottom line its not a story, its not drama and there is nothing talking about why men are from Kenya and women are from Pluto. Its nothing you can define really and it took more than 2 hours. At the end I was more tired than entertained. But the cast are simply perfect putting their best into this. It just shows how hungry and full of talent Kenyan youth are for real shows. And this week I already have an invite to culture spills production in luo. I can imagine another empty script for they are still stuck with the predictable bedroom farces only that in luo they sound funnier and more novel. maybe just a few more before they become a drag too.