Abstract:
This paper derives from the background that women are at the centre of society’s development. This view is informed by the simple reason that women do not merely serve to complete societal demographics but are significant and influential pillars in society. Hence, their impact is beneficial to them as individual women and to the larger establishments that they are part of. However, women’s positions in the Kenyan theatre scene have concentrated more at ancillary positions such as cast members, box office sales representatives and audience rather than where they give direction. Positions requiring critical decision making such as producing, directing, writing and critiquing performances gives one a liberal ground to make more informed decisions that are not only satisfying and rewarding, but also make their voices be known to the public. Grounded on case study approach, this article examines (hi)stories of the few Kenyan women theatre practitioners who have dared to be at the helm of theatre over time. Experiences of seasoned women theatre practitioners - Margaretta wa Gacheru and Mumbi Kaigwa – provide a canvas upon which contemporary women in theatre - Lydia Gitachu and Joy Mboya, who are the subject of this study – are comparatively examined. In interrogating the impact of women in contemporary theatre in Kenya, first this study delimits itself to Nairobi, the country’s capital and undauntedly the hub of professional theatre performances in the country. Secondly, the four women selected for this study were purposively sampled based on their extensive engagement with theatre in Kenya. The narrative logs from each of the four women’s experiences were critically analyzed and used in making cross-case conclusions and generalizations on the voice and participation of women in theatre. The intersection of these experiences were cross-examined alongside the larger context of women’s (in)visibility in theatre in Kenya. The findings of this study show that women have been largely invisibilized in the history of Kenyan theatre. However, the contemporary woman has conested this position in a number of ways, through which she has redefined her position in the country theatre industry.
