How do You Say Goodbye to ‘Tom Mboya?’ By Making Space for More Kenyan Stories on Stage
Too Early For Birds bid farewell to their critically acclaimed production about a key political figure,Tom Mboya, with plans to spotlight more untold narratives from Kenya’s rich history.
Paula Adhis
The cast ofTom Mboyatakes their final bow during a sold-out performance at Jain Bhavan, Nairobi, marking the end of the critically acclaimed production's five-year run.Photo courtesy of Too Early For Birds.
How do you say goodbye to one of Kenya’s most beloved productions? That was the question the cast and crew of Tom Mboya, the critically acclaimed production by Too Early for Birds (TEFB), faced as they prepared to lower the curtain for the final time yesterday after five remarkable years.
Tom Mboya
Ngartia (left) and Abu Sense (right), the founders of Too Early For Birds, perform as part of theTom Mboyacast.Photo courtesy of Too Early For Birds.
Founded in 2017 by Ngartia, who uses a pen name, and Abu Sense, TEFB is a theater troupe synonymous with vibrant, unapologetic storytelling rooted in Kenya’s history. Named after the popular blog, Too Late for Worms, by a historian and blogger who publishes under the pen name Owaahh, their productions meet a deeply felt need: a hunger for authentic Kenyan stories that spark conversations and bridge the past with the present.
An instant hit when it premiered, Tom Mboya sold out its initial run and four subsequent revivals. For Ywaya Xavier, who has portrayed Mboya since the play’s inception, the enduring success is a testament to its impact. “When I joined, [TEFB] already had a track record of selling out shows,” Ywaya tells OkayAfrica. “What surprises me is how long the show has lasted. Five years later, we’re still performing the same show. And people are still hungry for it.”
That hunger in 2024, however, feels profoundly different from 2019. Mboya’s story has resonated even more deeply with modern Kenyan audiences, many of whom are grappling and pushing back against widespread corruption and poor governance under President William Ruto’s administration.
This disillusionment came to a head during reruns of Tom Mboya in August, when the audience erupted into chants of “Ruto Must Go” as the show concluded. The moment followed a tribute to lives lost during the anti-finance bill protests.
Mugambi Nthiga (left), the director ofTom Mboya, and Gathoni Kimuyu (right), the producer.Photo courtesy of Too Early For Birds.
Gathoni Kimuyu
Director Mugambi Nthiga credits the play’s evolution with its longevity. Each rerun makes subtle but significant changes to reflect the current political and cultural climate. The cast plays the hottest songs in the background and uses the latest slang and pop culture references throughout the show.
“In 2019, the question was, ‘What if Mboya had lived? What kind of country would we have now?’” Nthiga says. “And we concluded the play by saying that questions of ‘what ifs’ are a waste of time.”
Ywaya Xavier (center) commands the stage as Tom Mboya, delivering a powerful performance surrounded by an energetic cast.Photo courtesy of Too Early For Birds.
However, as protests over government policies gripped the nation this year, the mood shifted. Rehearsals often coincided with the aftermath of violent protests, forcing the team to address the present.
"One morning, we came to rehearsals after a massacre," Nthiga says about the violent protests. "We couldn't escape addressing the present. We couldn't escape memorializing the victims, naming them one by one. That changed everything."
Benson Ngobia
Sheba Hirst, a long-time arts producer in Kenya who now serves as the director of the Nairobi Film Festival, agrees: “TEFB is so boldly and unapologetically its own thing — a highly textured storytelling that is as though a historical scrapbook of newspapers clippings, scribbled notes, audio recordings, old yellowing photos and the glue of rumors that held it all together suddenly came to life in the language and music of this time.”
She adds: “I doubt there is anything like it anywhere else in the world.”
For the cast and crew, the final week of Tom Mboya was a deeply emotional experience. Ywaya, who spent five years in the titular role, feels at peace letting go of the character but admits he will miss the team.
“I feel like I’ve done everything I could with the character,” he says. “Because I was working with a team of very brilliant people — good vibes, good energy — I’m really going to miss that. I’m going to miss them.”
Kimuyu sees the show’s conclusion as an opportunity to shift focus to other untold Kenyan stories. “We’re really saying goodbye to this cast more than to Tom Mboya,” she says. “But it’s also because we’re moving forward to tell new stories.”
Too Early For Birds'Tom Mboya played at Jain Bhavan in Nairobi until Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024.
