The man rocks a suit, has the looks of an international model and the intensity of a man who has come a long way. Rogers Otieno has a story that has to be told, and as a ghetto thug turned Associate Director of the Keith Pearson Theatre Company he plans to do just that.

Rogers Otieno walks and talks like someone with a history. With his eloquence and intrigue he is someone you just can’t stop talking too. Otieno was one of a handful of applicants who were accepted into the Keith Pearson Theatre Company. This company happens to be one of the few places in East Africa where young people can not only perform, they are trained in stage performance, acrobatics, clowning and many other theatrical techniques.

His story is one of inspiration and success despite all of life’s struggles. His first and upcoming play is “My Moving Home” based on his life story.

It follows the trials and tribulations of a little boy lost and suffering culture shock after being taken from his Luo village to the hustle and bustle of Dandora, now an infamous ghetto area of Nairobi, Kenya. The interesting thing about this play is that it is based on the improvisation which according to Otieno is the traditional style of performance from the streets.

The story sees the young Otieno struggling with poverty and his cultural unfamiliarity with the fast crowd of Nairobi. He turned to thug life to survive, thieving, mugging and pulling off con jobs to support his family and his best friend. In the play, just as in real life, the protagonist is faced with a dilemma, regretting his decision only once it’s too late.

Otieno says the style in which the play is performed is “experimental theatre” inspired by life and designed to create conversation. “It includes drama, dialogue and poetry allowing for interaction with the audience. By the time they know it, they are on stage”.

The audience will find themselves involved in the drama and sharing their own journey. “We’re all having our own journey but we’re all on the same bus.” This is real interactive style that Otieno hopes will have everyone re-inspired about theatre.

He is determined to make drama more attractive to everyone regardless of social status. ‘My Moving Home’ looks at cultural displacement which most people can relate to if they’ve moved from one part of the world to another, even it is just from the village to the city.

PERFORMANCE DATES

Nairobi

Venue: Alliance Francaise
Date: 7 and 8 August 2010
Time: 3:30pm and 6pm each day
Charges: Gate Kshs 500 Advance Kshs 300.

Mombasa

Venue: Mombasa Polytechnic
Date: 18 and 19 August 2010
Time: 6pm
Charges: Gate Kshs 300 Advance Kshs 200

Venue: La Veranda
Date: 20th August
Time: 6:30 pm
Charges: Gate Kshs 500

Kigotho (Nyali)

Date: 21 August 2010
Time: 6pm
Charges: Gate Kshs 500 Advance Kshs 400

Venue: Bombolulu Workshop Cultural Centre
Date: 22 August 2010
Time: 3pm
Charges: Non-Residents Gate Kshs 500 Advance Kshs 400 Residents Gate Kshs 300 Advance Kshs 200 Kids Kshs 50.

Kisumu

Venue: Kenyatta Sports ground
Date: 28 August 2010
Charges: Gate Kshs 300 Advance Kshs 200

Laurie May
photo: Onesmus Muteti

Tags: mombasa, nairobi