Devil in the Detail: Play takes shot at abductions

The stage is pitch-black. The play opens with a dramatic hook intensified by fast-tempo beats. Three young people swiftly stand up from their seats with phones in their hands and walk in different directions.

They type quickly on their phones, apparently posting on their social media accounts. A dark figure emerges from behind the seats. He stealthily walks towards one person, puts a sack over his head, and drags him out. He repeats the same thing to the other two.

This gripping scene was from an original comedy play, ‘Devil in the Detail’, by Heartstrings Entertainment, staged at the Alliance Francaise auditorium in Nairobi.

The story continues to another scene of a pastor, Bumpy (played by Timothy Ndisii), welcoming a young man, Kibet (played by Cosmas Kirui), in church. Kibet’s father went missing and died; his severed tongue was the only body part found.

Bumpy adopts Kibet, and he adjusts to his new life. We get to see Bumpy at his home as a physically and emotionally abusive husband to his wife, Sophia (played by Jane Wangari).

The play explores their marital conflicts to a great extent. As she plans to leave her marriage, her mother (played by Esther Kahuha) dissuades her from her decision.

Through a prayer about her marriage, Sophia reveals that Bumpy is the one behind the abductions. Kibet impregnates Bumpy’s daughter, Shirley (played by Lydia Wabocha), as revenge for his father, who was abducted and killed.

Kibet ends up confronting his father’s abductor and incapacitates him.

The play addressed the role of religious leaders in speaking against abductions and killings that have been going on in the country. In the play, Bumpy stopped Kibet from speaking openly at the pulpit about the injustice towards his father and was instead advised to forgive the perpetrator.

Kibet as a character is a familiar one and a deliberate choice. Cartoonist Gideon Kibet, popularly known as Kibet Bull, and his brother Ronny Kiplangat were among the people who were abducted and released in the recent months.

As Ronny was inactive on social media, it came to be known that he was abducted for being related to Gideon, a government critic. The play imitates life by having Bumpy kidnap Kibet’s father since he couldn’t find Kibet at first.

What was unclear was Bumpy’s motive in silencing critics since it was not once mentioned what his political or public interests were and how the critics’ social media posts would affect him.

Interestingly, the red stage lighting, by lighting technician Brian Karanja, in the abduction scenes enhanced the title of the play. 

All things considered, ‘Devil in the Detail’ promised their niched comical performance, and it delivered. This play, directed by Heartstrings founder Sammy Mwangi, assisted by Timothy Ndisii, kicked off their production year.

We anticipate many more thought-provoking shows that take a look into recent events in the country throughout the year.