Take 5 with Nyokabi Macharia

Nyokabi Macharia is an actress, singer and dancer based in Nairobi, Kenya who has indulged in professional Musical Theatre for two and a half years.

She is best known for playing Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar and most recently, The Legend in "Too Early for Bird's Brazen edition" (TEFB).

She had her first international performance at Omnibus Theatre in London in October 2017 when she staged a one woman show about her experiences as a foreign black African woman trying to penetrate one of the world's biggest entertainment scenes.

Nyokabi is set to reprise the role of Giraffe in the hit musical "Tinga Tinga" this year at the Kenya National Theatre in September performing alongside some of Kenya's best musicians like Atemi, Eric Wainaina and Chris Adwar.

1. What was it like, to perform in London? What are the comparisons and contrasts you find between working on a stage like that and working here at home?

The audience there was definitely more reserved than the audience here at home so engaging them was such a task! Getting them to dance and sing along was a bit hard while at home you just need to play a Lingala beat or pull an Odi dance move and people join in! I missed that about home. I'd say it might have been a cultural disconnect. Because of the nature of my experiences as a black person in a predominantly white community, the songs and pieces I would perform were naturally very conscious material. Things that I probably wouldn't be so keen to speak about here in Kenya. It was such an awakening for me and I became so aware of the privilege I enjoyed growing up in a country where the majority of the population is black!

2. That is, if you consider Kenya home, of course. In the country we live in, it can sometimes be hard to feel loved and safe and protected; so two questions here, what did you learn about Kenya after TEFB, and what do you think makes it home?

TEFB definitely made me more conscious of the fact that our education system is very flawed! I learnt that heroism has been attached to a certain gender in our history (men, of course). As a young girl, I was never exposed to all these strong women who actively participated in the fight for our independence. It was all men!

During TEFB, I felt empowered and spiritually connected to these women. I felt a need to do more with regard to social justice because I could relate with these heroes just by the virtue of them being women; Something I have never felt before when I read about the stories of all the 45,000 heroic men that have been recorded in our history books.

By withholding such information, we're robbing our girls off something so essential to their growth and identity as women in this country.

What makes Kenya home is the diversity in languages, our matatu culture, our traditional music, our quirky odi dance moves! All of it! This is why I get very frustrated when parents consciously refuse to teach their children their mother tongue. I remember we used to be beaten in school because of speaking Swahili, our national language. Isn't this a joke on us?

Now we can all speak the coloniser's language but can barely construct a single sentence in our own National Language! I am personally scared for my children because I can't fluently speak in my mother tongue. So what am I going to pass down to my children? We're losing our heritage and our identity as a Nation and it scares me so much.

3. What is your favourite play, or movie? What character would you most like to play on a stage?

I have a couple. I'm a Denzel fan so probably anything that he's acted in. The Great Debaters, then there's Sound of Music,Gone with the Wind and my new favourite is Supa Modo.

Oh my goodness I fell in love with that film! It's one of those films my children will have to watch! My dream role is Sarafina. I would love to play that role under the direction of someone who truly understands and gets the spirit behind Sarafina!

4. Are there Kenyan actors that you would love to work with who you haven't already?

Yes! There's lots of Kenyan actors that I would love to work with like the rest of the crew from TEFB that I didn't get to work with in Brazen...William Wamae, Brian Ogola, Abu and Ngartia! Melissa Kiplagat (I think she is an exceptional actor) Mkamzee Mwatela (the goddess herself!) Charles Ouda, John Sibi Okumu. It would be an honour to share a stage or film set with these people.

5. I ask many artists this - what do you feel is the role of an artist in terms of social commentary and activism? Do you think that being an artist and being an activist are mutually exclusive? Is it possible to produce art that changes society without actively wanting to change society, like speaking out against the evils what you see?

Art is probably one of the main tools of activism. I believe artists are the gate keepers of a Nation and we would be in a way better place if our art could be used to steer conversations that challenge societal norms.

Art that calls out the government! Look at what Sarabi band have done with their music... The content we write should reflect the times we're in as a Nation.

I think one of the main reasons why most of our content is not ‘conscious art’ is because we're not in touch with our history (myself included). We were robbed of our history and that's what is biting us today. You cannot compare us with the South Africans. They are aware of their long history in regards to apartheid and how so many black people suffered because of that system. They're aware of what it took for them to enjoy the same opportunities that were accorded to white people.

African Americans are deeply conscious of their history as black people and the damage that was done to their ancestors. On the other hand, we are overjoyed when a white man just comes to greet us.

But how can we not get excited about them when the only great philosophers we are taught about are Plato & Aristotle? It's extremely sad how colonised our minds still are!