Costly drama, sideshows at refurbished national theatre

The cheers and praise for the refurbished Kenya National Theatre in Nairobi on September 4 has been followed by weeks of complaints.

This is after the Kenya Cultural Centre, which runs the theatre, increased charges for using the theatre.

“The new hall is too expensive. It used to cost between Sh20,000 and Sh30,000 to book the auditorium for a day. Now it’s Sh50,000 for two shows a day. If you want to stage an extra show that day, you pay Sh25,000 more,” Ms Kabura Gathoni, a stage manager, told the Sunday Nation.

Ms Gathoni says: “If you consider that amount, the hiring cost, and that the 370 sitting capacity, it makes no financial sense”.

Comparing charges for hiring a hall at the nearby Alliance Français and the theatre, Mr Tash Mitambo, a director with Fanaka Arts Theatre, thinks it’s aimed to push away artistes.

“We paid Sh50,000 for the play Amba Nyambure and when we inquired about a rehearsal room, we were asked to pay Sh2,000 per hour for the dance studio,” he says.

“It was the only one available at the moment. We declined and approached the managers at Alliance Français who agreed to offer a rehearsal room free even though we had not booked their auditorium for the stage performance.”

STRINGENT RULES

He adds that Alliance Français charges an average of Sh36,000 a day and a free rehearsal room.

In addition, a contract the Sunday Nation acquired from an actor said: “A maximum of two performances shall be allowed. No performance within the auditorium shall be allowed beyond 9pm”.

Mr Mitambo describes this as ridiculous: “A play takes two hours and some shows usually start at 6pm. That means the second play runs from 8pm to 10pm; how then will you manage to strike a balance between the two performances — so as to end the stage performance at 9pm? It’s ridiculous!”

Mr Eric Ndung’u, director of Fanaka Arts Theatre, says it took rule-bending to cast his two shows in the play Amba Nyambure from September 17 to 20 as they had gone beyond the stipulated hours.

Most artistes the Sunday Nation spoke to, but who did not want to be named, cried foul over the “pettiness” of the management, including things like locking of washrooms.

BE REASONABLE
The first performance at the theatre, the play by Fanaka, came with its fair share of drama.

“There was an issue with the parking fee; patrons were being charged Sh500 for two hours,” Mr Ndung’u says.

“There is no sense in paying Sh500 for a show then paying a similar amount or more for parking. Actually, most patrons swore never to attend a performance there.”

Ms Gathoni says: “The place is fully booked until December, but by unknown groups. All we’re saying is that the management should be reasonable and call a meeting including artistes.”

Theatre Director Aghan Odero Agan, says the artistes are unfair in their claims. “The previous charges were categorised into three groups, where companies would pay Sh30,000 to hold a function at the theatre; non-profit organisations would part with Sh25,000 a day while regular users (artistes) would be charged Sh20,000,” he says.

The director adds: “We decided to charge Sh50,000 after refurbishment”, but they are open to review.

The director explains that performances after 9pm are allowed at an extra cost of Sh25,000 to cater for the additional security and paying employees working overtime.

PARKING PROBLEM RESOLVED
Regarding the washrooms, he says: “We have only locked washrooms at the main auditorium to keep them in good condition for use during stage performances. But we have a new block of external toilets open to the public at a fee of Sh10.”

He says the parking problem has since been resolved and that theatre-goers now pay a maximum of Sh100.

The director denies the management is discriminating against artistes. “Anything cultural, artistic and of creative nature is what is given first priority and not the individuals,” he says, showing the Sunday Nation a schedule of the bookings.

The theatre, refurbished at a cost of more than Sh100 million with the support of Kenya Breweries Limited, was re-opened by President Uhuru Kenyatta last month.