Play of the Week – For Better, for Worse, by Phoenix Theatre
Watch Veronica Waceke on stage at the Phoenix Theatre on Parliament Road starting March 27. PHOTOS | CIKU KIMANI
What you need to know:
- Veronica Waceke plays Mrs Juma, who has two kids. She married young for all the wrong reasons and now the marriage is on the rocks.
- She does not want to divorce her husband because she wants her kids to have a father around and thinks that the marriage could still work.
- All she gets, though, is heartbreak and frustration since her husband openly cheats on her, and it is killing her inside.
The play is partly a study of moral conditioning but also explores the problem in a relationship (marriage) in which, for complex reasons, one partner is more committed than the other.
It is about marriages that survive but the partners quietly whither, about men enslaving women only to wake up to find they have enslaved themselves.
Unfortunately, the innocent victims of these collapsing marriages are the children – the voiceless ones.
Theatre personality of the week – Veronica Waceke
Q. You are quite the theatre veteran, how long have you been doing it for?
A. It has been six years.
Q. Do you reckon there is anything left for you to learn, or do, in theatre?
A. There is a lot to learn. I can’t say that I’ve done it all. Like the play I’m currently in; it is very deep and it is the first time I am acting in such a role.
Q. You have also graced our TV screens; any current project?
A. No. However, I feel honoured to have received two awards two weeks ago for Best Supporting Actress in a feature film called Strata at the Riverwood Awards in Nairobi, and also Best Actress in a short film called My Faith at the Mashariki Awards held in Rwanda.
Q. Tell us a little about the role you are playing in For Better, For Worse
A. I am playing Mrs Juma, who has two kids. She married young for all the wrong reasons and now the marriage is on the rocks. She does not want to divorce her husband because she wants her kids to have a father around and thinks that the marriage could still work. All she gets, though, is heartbreak and frustration since her husband openly cheats on her, and it is killing her inside.
Q. Do you have a memorable role?
A. I have several, but the one that stands out has to be the time I portrayed a very depressed, suicidal woman. It was hard for me to be myself even after the show was over.
Q. How many theatre troupes have you worked with?
A. Several, including The Theatre Company, Festival of Creative Arts, and now Phoenix, of course.
Q. Can one survive on acting?
A. Yes, at least I do.
Q. Future acting plans?
A. To go on doing what I do and get to work with as many directors as possible because every day you get new experiences. I would want to do at least three movies this year.
Q. Anything else you do?
A. Apart from acting, I am also a theatre director and a first assistant director for TV/Film, commonly known as First AD.
Q. Married, single, searching?
A. Single.
Q. Given five minutes with controversial political bloggers, what would you tell them?
A. I would take less than five minutes and tell them it is never that serious.
Watch Veronica Waceke on stage at the Phoenix Theatre on Parliament Road on March 27, April 3 and 10 at 7.30pm; March 28 and 29 at 6pm, April 1, 2, 8 and 9 at 7pm; April 11 and 12 at 3pm and 6pm. To book, call or Mpesa 0705-589722 or 0722-510705.
