Ngugi wa Thiong’o did not live to see this new staging of The Trial of Dedan Kimathi, but he knew it was coming — and he was excited. Kenya’s greatest literary icon had been in conversation with director Stuart Nash about the revival of his revolutionary work.
The product of that thought exchange comes to life on stage at the Kenya National Theatre in an adaptation that will run for eight days, starting June 19, with 12 sold-out shows, culminating on June 27.
“I hope they get an authentic production that is true to Ngugi’s vision. I know he was excited that we were going to do the play,” Stuart says of Ngugi who died on May 28.
This production, by far Stuart’s most ambitious, features multiple sets, a cast and crew of nearly 100, and, for the first time in his career, the director also takes on a role on stage.
First written by Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Micere Githae Mugo in the mid-1970s, the play reimagines the final days of Mau Mau leader Dedan Kimathi. Far from the criminal that British colonialists painted him to be, Kimathi emerges here as a symbol of resistance, defiance, and the unfinished struggle for freedom.
A bustling market scene in The Trial of Dedan Kimathi captures the everyday life and quiet resistance of ordinary Kenyans under colonial rule.
Photo credit: Pool
This new interpretation doesn’t merely revisit the original, it deepens it, filling in the imaginative silences of the original script. Told through trance-like sequences and memory, it invites the audience to re-examine the forces of colonialism and the lingering shadows of its legacy.
“This isn’t a retelling of what happened in Kamiti Maximum Prison in February 1957,” says Bilal Mwaura, who plays Kimathi. “It’s a reimagination. A what-if. Because there is so much we still do not know.”
Bilal describes the experience as both a blessing and a responsibility. At times, he says, the play feels participatory, the audience is not merely watching, but called to bear witness, to join the struggle. Recent youth protests across the country only underscore the production’s relevance, he is quick to point out.
“It’s historical, yes,” he says, “but today’s oppressor may not wear a British uniform. They could look like you. Or me.”
The production’s timing, so close to Ngugi’s death and amidst a renewed wave of civic resistance in Kenya, feels serendipitous. “Everything has aligned as if in tune with the script,” says Bilal.
Lydia Gitachu, who plays the Woman Warrior, offers a similarly powerful reading of the play. “She is the binding force in the movement,” says Lydia. “No wonder Kimathi calls her the Mother of the People.”
For her, the experience has been raw and transformative. “Everything on that stage is real. And watching the play with today’s lens, you ask: What if he had been Kenya’s first president? What if we had truly followed his path?”
The show, she says, delivers more than a history lesson. It’s a provocation. “It’s Ngugi speaking to us from the ashes (refering to cremation of the author's body). Asking what we ourselves are doing to make the change we say we want.”
A scene from one of the sets of The Trial of Dedan Kimathi at the Kenya National Theatre.
Photo credit: Pool
As director, Stuart admits to feeling the weight of expectation, especially following Ngugi’s death. “There’s added pressure. People are expecting a lot,” he says.
When an actor originally cast as Shaw Henderson became unavailable, Stuart stepped in, juggling acting with directing. “It’s the first time I’ve done both. I usually prefer being behind the scenes, but this needed doing.”
What does he hope audiences will take away? “An authentic production. Ngugi’ was excited about this play. His death was just… a shame.”
Now, with The Trial of Dedan Kimathi, Ngugi’s legacy marches on—through fire, defiance, and the echo of drums that still call a nation to remember, and to rise.
