Small day schools trounce big names in drama festival

Kwanthanze and Mavoko secondary schools trounced big names during the Metropolitan Regional Drama Festival in Kajiado County on Saturday and Sunday.

Kwanthanze produced the winning choral verse, The Treasury, which showed how public officials loot the national coffers and become instant millionaires.

Mavoko won in the solo verse category, beating national schools from Nairobi, Kajiado and Makueni counties.

The poem was on the drawbacks of ranking of students and schools in national examinations.

The two schools wins were remarkable, bearing in mind that they are day institutions with little time and resources for rehearsals. 

Kwanthanze’s The Treasury employed excellent visual effects to drive the anti-corruption message home. The verse was written and directed by Mr Phillip Alaya.

In Mavoko’s verse, a bright boy from a poor background performs badly in the national examinations.

For most of the time, the boy was away from school due to lack of fees. According to the verse, students should be given equal learning opportunities.

The verse was recited by Brian Makori, directed by Mrs Rose Ndegwa and produced by Mr SK Wambua.

“It is difficult to juggle rehearsal hours in a day school, but we spent the little time we had well. It was a sacrifice on the part of the trainers and students,” Mrs Ndegwa said.

BOY CHILD

Another brilliant item was Timotheo Wetu, a play by St Augustine Secondary School, Mlolongo. It was about problems encountered by the boy-child. 

Riara Girls High School of Nairobi won in the plays category with Clarification.

The play is about gender misconceptions as far as rape is concerned.

It urges people to be aware that rape can affect both men and women. It was written by Mr Justin Ongweni and produced by Mr P Maingi.