Sending a Message of Suffering

Nanzikambe goes socio-political in 'I Will Marry When I Want'

It is on rare occasions that Nanzikambe Theatre Arts Group disappoints when they perform on stage. Their performances are usually perfectly set; deeply thoughtful thematically; and just so touching, to crown it all. They seem to be stubbornly treading in the imaginary cornerstones of rebuking, entertaining and informing.

And last Sunday, August 14, the group lived up to the people’s expectations when they performed a contextualized adaptation of Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s I Will Marry When I Want in the Great Hall at Chancellor College. The play was adapted for the Malawian setting by Mphatso Chidothe.

However, the idea of African time being out of touch with reality where it does not follow the rules of the clock was once more vindicated when the play which was slated to start at 7:00 pm only got rolling about 40 minutes later. This seems to have suddenly become an axiom of morality: it is rare for performances – whether music shows or plays – to start on or just in time.

As time approached 7 pm, the stage was still being set; a subtle image of a house, with all necessary props in place. With the adorable lighting, the final stage set was a marvel to behold. And on it, the actors seemed to feel like that was the only place where they would forever belong.

They neglected the feeling that it was just an idealistic depiction; but embraced the notion of celebrated actors – that while on the stage, one must agree that he is the character James, even if he is known as Marko elsewhere.

Those who have read or watched the original play must have initially struggled to come to terms with the fact that the adaptation would make sense in the Malawian context, especially considering the fact that it was written more than thirty years ago. But it was only a few minutes into the play that they, like the rest of the audience, could hardly resist the impulse to applaud the actors – or perhaps, the ‘adaptor’ – for the well-contextualized performance.

The audience which was only around 100 people was unusually quiet and only applauded intermittently, and at the end they seemed to be mutually satisfied that their monies had not been spent in vain. The silence among the audience was not that the play was lackluster, but because it searched earnestly for some food for thought.

Themes exploring modern life – be it social or political – are dominating current Malawian literature. Talk of short stories, poems, essays, analyses – they seldom tackle other thematic expression that are not linked to politics or social lives of modern day man.

And Nanzikambe too has to tackle the same in I Will Marry When I Want. In the play, there is a poor family whose breadwinner, Jonathan Malata, played by Henry Mtalika, works for a rich man Chinakanaka taken onto stage by Jeremiah Mwaungulu.

Just like in the original play, the adapted version doesn’t deviate from the theme of exploitation where the rich exploit the poor where the poor offer the whole production while the rich own the production to such an extent that the poor are treated “like dogs”.

Chinakanaka, who in the play is a symbol of the rich, uses everything to make sure he makes money for himself. He even uses religion where he propagates the popular message that “blessed are the poor, for they shall inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.” He and his rich colleague Dayiton Kamkwamba (played by Noah Bulambo) even reach the point of urging Malata to hold a church wedding so that he should be “accepted in the Kingdom of God”.

The wedding results in Malata losing his piece of land which is confiscated after he fails to repay a bank load. And, ironically, the bank has Chinakanaka himself as the top most boss, which implies he might have shares in it, or might still own the whole of it altogether. Exploitation is further seen where Chinakanaka’s son gets Malata’s daughter Chisomo, acted by Otooli Masanza, pregnant, but he has his father’s backing when he refuses to marry her.

Towards the end, Malata and his fellow labourers come together to “bang heads” so as to come out of the suffering they are rolling in. The Marxist notion of the lower class resorting to violence against the upper class seems to become prevalent as the play approaches the end.

However, the violence seems to be just in the thoughts of the lower class as there is no visible action taken against the ruling class. Perhaps the brainstorming is an important threshold towards the emancipation of the exploited.

The contextualized adaptation of the play comes live again when it tackles modern social-political and economic issues currently rocking Malawi. It makes sense to assume that Chidothe, the man who adapted the play, gave the actors enough leeway to improvise as much as they can.

This was vindicated when in the Great Hall the actors did not fail to tackle issues of increasing cost of living necessitated by exorbitant taxes. Malata complains to his wife, acted by Flora Suya, that in the past K50 would buy a lot of foodstuffs, while now it isn’t even enough for a bottle of cooking oil and some salt.

During the performance, interludes which were generally in forms of songs, also explicitly exposed the exploitation of the poor. However, to enhance the notion of exploitation, there were also religious songs which seemed to woo the poor into religion.

Kambombo Mumba (acted by Misheck Mzumara) also takes a swipe at the inability of legislators to consider the plight of poor Malawians. “Tenancy in Malawi is modern day slavery. Landlords exploit tenants. The tenancy bill hasn’t been tabled for over five years now. Officials don’t care because they are the beneficiaries. They own estates and exploit tenants,” bemoans Mumba in the play.

As though trying to take part in the current struggle Malawians are engulfed in where they are demanding government to address a number of problems they are facing, the play explores the gone days when people were detained, but still fought on till they succeeded.

Apart from the dominant theme of exploitation, the play also tackles emancipation and heroism. Mumba argues that real freedom fighters are not enjoying while those who were not here when the battle for freedom was being fought are the ones who are enjoying.

During the performance, the audience was generally being driven from a thoughtful and pitiful mood to a hilarious one. It was as if the director had deliberately designed the play that way. Take this instance: in a calm voice, an actor bemoans his poverty and says: “These people just use religion to exploit us. How come they say we the poor are blessed, while they themselves are accumulating wealth for themselves?” He goes on to say: “a leader who doesn’t listen is not a leader at all.”

Then afterwards, another actor says teachers are receiving their salaries on the 35th of the month. Well, it is a pathetic situation, but then it provided a moment of laughter for the audience.

After the end of the “multi-thematic” play, the audience seems to be mutually satisfied that their money had not been spent in vain. The students, who had to party ways with K500 praised Nanzikambe for the play.

“As usual, the guys did a very good job. The play lasted more than three hours but we sat glued to the stage to make sure we did not miss anything,” said James Munyapa, a fourth year student at Chanco.

I Will Marry When I Want is on a national tour where the group will perform it in different cities and districts. From Zomba, they are taking it to Mangochi, Balaka, Mchinji, Lilongwe, Salima, Nkhatabay, Mzuzu, Rumphi and Karonga. The people in these places should be prepared to be treated to an adorable feast of art.