THE PEASANT FARMER

The performance of the adaptation of JeanBaptiste Poquelin (aka Molière)'s comedy 'L'Avare, ou 'L'École du Mensonge' (The Miser, or the School for Lies) went down successfully at the CASIK-Kenya supported performance space at Kisumu's Dunga Hill Camp yesterday

On the commemoration of Molière's 400th birthday for the whole of 2022, the Alliance Française Nairobi commissioned the rendition of The Miser, localised as 'Mstinji', a Sheng equivalent to the French and English Title. First performed in 1668, the Kisumu show was the next of a series of performances that have so far been done In Nairobi and Nakuru, and should be on the road to the Coast.

Adaptation

Nothing brought home the relevance of the play to the audience than the adaptation of the script to the general realities and experiences of the Kenyan audience. It successfully blended in political, social and economical events of Kenya's recent past, skillfully weaving these in without losing Molière's intrinsic comedy. Those who have read/watched 'Minister Karibu' and/or 'Role Play' by John Sibi-Okumu wsuspect that this adaptation must have been the TOR/SOW of his being taken in as a 'Production Consultant' in this project. Hii ni mkono yake kabisa! Done well.