Mboka, Rwanda’s first musical a success

Rwanda’s first musical, Mboka, started with dim lights and a low hum. The choir emerged from the shadows dressed in similar shades, their somber voices accompanying the recording of an old radio broadcast. “There is no future for those who deny the past,” declared the voice of Marcus Garvey.Over 500 guests packed the seats of Ishyo Arts Centre in Kacyiru to capacity three nights in a row for the highly anticipated musical. Many who attended the opening night performance on Wednesday, returned for the Thursday and Friday night shows.Mboka examines questions and implications that sprung up when a bookstore specializing in the history of the black race faces closure to make way for a hair salon. The bookstore owner, Kiyi, insists on the preservation of knowledge - condemning the “collective lack of knowledge of ourselves” and the “constant desire to imitate, impersonate, and duplicate everything Caucasian.” “You can’t replace history with hair gel,” he argued.However, other characters assert that “assimilation is essential to evolution” and opt to side with capitalism and economic considerations at the expense of hindering cultural preservation.Recurring themes of gender, age, race, and identity intersect with the central theme of “independence” that is explored through interactions between characters and musical segments embedded within the plot. The layers of meaning tie the plight of the bookstore to larger questions about the continuing dependence of African countries on the Western world. “We’ve been able to witness other people talking about their genocide, but ours, well ours has been confined to saccharine American sagas, or puerile political statements by people who don’t give a damn about us,” observes the bookstore owner and leading protagonist, brother Kiyi.The closure of Kiyi’s bookstore parallels the continued silencing of the African voice in literature and in history. However, in one of the musical segments, the assembly of voices declared, “My stolen past will not magically come back … I’m coming to steal it back … I’m coming to steal spoken words to reconquer my role in the story of my own history.”The musical repeatedly underscores that the fate of the bookstore belongs in the hands of its owner and the bookstore’s target clientele. Mboka emphasizes that the African community must take ownership of their own identity and proactively seek to preserve the culture that has been “stolen.”“Our worst enemy is ourselves,” said one character in the musical, and later, “You can’t remake the world without remaking yourself.”Guests applauded the production, which featured original writing and music from Rwandan artists, and incorporated diverse artistic genres and styles – including reinterpretations of well-known songs such as the “Independence Cha-Cha” (Grand Kalle) and “Just the two of us” (Bill Withers). Mboka was directed by Carole Karemera with music by Cecilia Kankonda.“Sensational! Mboka was the first live performance I’ve attended since my arrival in Kigali from New York City,” said one guest. It belongs here, but it would blow Broadway away!”The questions and implications raised by the musical were particularly compelling in light of the realistic plight of Ishyo Arts Centre. Members and supporters of the Ishyo Arts Centre empathized with Kiyi’s pain over the loss of his bookstore because Ishyo also faces an uncertain future. The arts centre, which has functioned as the hub of theatre, dance, music, and literature in Kigali, is counting the days until they will be required to leave the venue at Kacyiru.“Maybe if more of the youth could hear or see where they’ve come from, they’d have a little bit more respect for where they are,” stated Kiyi – a message that is also relevant to the survival of Ishyo.By producing Rwanda’s first musical and facilitating the arts scene in Kigali, Ishyo hopes that cultural preservation will gain greater significance and support among Rwandans. Just as MBOKA underscored the necessity of proactivity and initiative from the community to preserve the bookstore, the future of Ishyo also lies in the hands of its supporters and patrons in the Rwanda.

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Mboka, Rwanda’s first musical a success