The cast of Tom Mboya takes their final bow during a sold-out performance at Jain Bhavan, Nairobi, marking the end of the critically acclaimed production's five-year run.
How do You Say Goodbye to ‘Tom Mboya?’ By Making Space for More Kenyan Stories on Stage
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.
Since its debut in 2019, Tom Mboya has consistently sold out every performance, including reruns in 2019, this past August and last weekend’s farewell shows. These performances mark the end of an era for a production that has entertained, educated and inspired a nation eager to connect with its history.
Photo courtesy of Too Early For Birds.
Ngartia (left) and Abu Sense (right), the founders of Too Early For Birds, perform as part of the Tom Mboya cast.
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.
“We are trying to be the best storytellers we can be in the mediums we are interested in — stage, film and page,” says Ngartia.
Often called the “Hamilton of Kenya,” TEFB’s success has been undeniable. Their shows, which also spotlight historical figures like Muthoni Nyanjiru and Otenyo Nyamaterere, consistently fill out Nairobi’s largest auditoriums.An Outlet for the People
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 audienceerupted into chants of “Ruto Must Go” as the show concluded. The moment followed a tribute to lives lost during the anti-finance bill protests.
“It was freeing,” the show’s producer, Gathoni Kimuyu, says, recalling how the chant began as she was on stage thanking the audience. “This is a story of Tom Mboya from 55 years ago, yet so much resonates with our present. That chant didn’t come from nowhere — it was people realizing that our history is not so far removed from our reality. It was heavy, too, because we had just paid homage to the fallen heroes. The chanting felt inevitable.”Photo courtesy of Too Early For Birds.
Mugambi Nthiga (left), the director of Tom Mboya, and Gathoni Kimuyu (right), the producer.
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.”
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.
Photo courtesy of Too Early For Birds.
Ywaya Xavier (center) commands the stage as Tom Mboya, delivering a powerful performance surrounded by an energetic cast.
"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."
For Benson Ngobia, Executive Director of the Kenya International Theater Festival, TEFB is at the forefront of a post-pandemic revival of Kenya’s theater scene. “Too Early For Birds tells Kenyan stories using a distinctly Kenyan approach. They speak how Kenyans talk in the streets, and that’s why the audience resonates with it so deeply,” he says.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.”
The Final Bow
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.- These 5 Women Writers Are Ushering the New Wave of African Stories on Stage ›
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