Play of the week – Mending Monologues

Mending Monologues explores gender violence issues from a male perspective.

Using true, first-person monologues, sketch comedy and hard-hitting slam poetry.

The monologues takes the audience on an emotional and educational roller-coaster ride through relationship and gender issues to create a healing, “therapeutic” experience.

The monologues are narrated by the talented Ian Mbugua, Nick Ndeda, Mwikali Mary, Wanjiku Mburu, Nick Mutuma and Gilbert Lukalia.

Theatre Personality of the Week – Nick Ndeda

Q.  You are a man who knows how to multi-task. Apart from radio, screen and theatre, what else do you do?
A. I am working on painting, I am greatly fascinated by comic books so I would like to do something along those lines and most recently standup comedy.

Q.  How do you manage to juggle all that as they are all time consuming?

A. I had to make a schedule to make sure I accomplish as much of each every week since I can’t do them all in a day, but in a week it’s manageable.

For me, it’s more of my contribution to art so I enjoy doing them all and thus don’t feel tired or stressed by it all. It’s quite fun really.

Q. How old is your acting career and what came first between acting and radio?
A. Professionally it’s been 10 years since I did my first play at the Kenya National Theatre; ”Merchant of Venice”.

I have always been a fan of Shakespeare so I am glad that was my first play. Radio came in 2007 when I was selected to join the first team of presenters on Homeboyz Radio.

Q.  If you could, what would you concentrate on between radio, theatre and screen?

A. It’s not about concentration in my opinion. If you have something to contribute to a field of art and are willing to put in the work and learn the craft then do it.

Each field gives me a different high and satisfaction so I can’t even measure them on the same scale. It’s like apples and oranges…and beetroots!

Q. Tell us about Mending Monologues?
A. Mending Monologues is a somewhat response to the Vagina Monologues.

Monologues written by men, some based on personal experience and others borrowed, they centre on ending violence against women. It’s a bold statement by men publicly declaring their stand as feminists.
Q. Are you afraid of forgetting some lines?

A.The audience doesn’t know the lines so should I forget, how will they know!!

Q. Where do you hope your career will be in five years?

A. Somewhere next to the word “successful” in an article!

Q. So, how do you deal with all the ladies’ attention that must come your way?

A. The same way I react when going to an MPesa in the CBD, very, very, cautiously!!

Q. Married, single, dating or otherwise?

A. Dating

Q. What is your favorite food and can you cook it?

A. Samosas. Anyone can make samosas, right?

Q. What do you do to wind up?

A.I like cartoons. Especially the kind with profanity like Adult Swim” They are quite funny.

Q. Given five minutes with bloggers who post tribal slurs, what would you tell them?
-Kill your blog. Open Google, search “humanity” and then look at your life.

Watch Nick Ndeda and the crew at The Michael Joseph Centre (MJC) on the 29th, 30th and 31st January, 2015 at 7pm all shows. Tickets cost 1,000 shillings. 

Ticket hotlines 0720701359, 0708221040, 0736330680.  Proceeds from this production go to Flone Initiative.

Flone has been on the forefront fighting gender based violence through enlightening Matatu touts and drivers against stripping of women.

This programme has been to various counties like Nyeri, Kisii, Kisumu and Nairobi.