KigeziNdoto: the desires of the African woman

March 2006 -

 Kenya's music theatre performance KigeziNdoto will experience its world premier during the World Music Theatre Festival in Amsterdam on 18 March. With music, dance and drama The Theatre Company, directed by Mumbi Kaigwa, portrays the 'desires of the modern East-African woman'.

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Mumbi Kaigwa

Do women in Kenya still believe in the 'African dream' of peace and freedom in 2006? Can they emancipate themselves despite the daily struggle of survival and the traditions that bind them to home and hearth? Can they overcome social pressure to focus on having many children and obeying their husbands? Mumbi Kaigwa asked women in Kenya from various classes and population groups these questions. These interviews formed the basis for a 'swinging sensual performance', the title of which explains all. Kigezi means ankle cuffs and ndoto means dreams.

Mumbi Kaigwa (1962) lives in Kenya and is currently considered one of Africa's leading theatre makers and film actresses. She was the first woman, for example, who dared to make an African version of the feminist play The Vagina Monologues. As UN employee in the 1990s, she contributed to the fight against AIDS, sexual abuse, poverty and other injustices. She recently played a supporting role in the successful film The Constant Gardener.

KigeziNdoto was made on behalf of and in co-production with the World Music Theatre Festival. After its premier in Amsterdam the play will tour nine different theatres in the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy. The text is spoken in Kiswahili and is sub-titled. At the end of the tour the play will also be performed in Kenya.