Theatre and Architecture: Kamirithu decolonial theatre, and Kamirithu Polytechnic

Abstract

When asked how a decolonial space should be designed, Suki Mwendwa, a professor in design, replied, “You don’t have to always be in the house.” (Kamirithu Afterlives, 2022, 5:59). The Kamirithu theatre project, led by Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Ngugi wa Mirii sought to re-inscribe a decolonial discourse in Limuru, Kenya. Through the play, Ngaahika Ndeenda (I Will Marry When I Want), the community sought to fight back against colonial land dispossession and a postcolonial regime that perpetuated systems of oppression in the Multinational Bata Shoe Factory and the tea plantations around Limuru. The community collaboratively designed and constructed an open-air theatre in the space formerly called Social Hall, in 1976, and staged the performances. As a metaphor, "I Will Marry When I Want" can be understood as an architectural and literary declaration of resistance, shaping the vision of the Kamirithu community through theatre and the built environment. However, due to the revolutionary content of the play and the decolonial redesigning of the space, the Kenyan government banned the play, destroyed the theatre, and built a polytechnic on the site. Acknowledging the significance of architecture as a means of activism, particularly in a country impacted by oppressive colonial and postcolonial continuities, the architectural design of Kamirithu open-air – theatre, and Polytechnic are implicated in decolonization processes in Kenya. This paper evaluates the architecture of the polytechnic against the ethos of the play that was previously staged in the space it now occupies. It then assesses the proposition of making the polytechnic a place of memory and heritage in a decolonial context.