Let's try create time for theatre halls, auditoriums detours

I am eagerly waiting to see what Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has in store for creatives.

In case you missed it, he held an interactive day with creatives based in Nairobi just to engage with them and find out the challenges they encounter and how best they can work together to overcome the setbacks.

While at it, he featured as a special guest on three different podcasts and, of course, I watched how he engaged with the hosts.

This was weeks after his scorecard came out one year after he came into office.

The discussions were really interesting, and how the podcasters conducted the different interviews was equally as engaging and fun to watch.

I like how Sakaja blended in; from vibing with the Zoza team to the Sandwich team, to even the Joyride podcast team.

However, during one of the podcast sessions, while listening in, there was a discussion about coming up with more theatre spaces for creatives in Nairobi.

The Governor’s plan with his team, as he said, is to reclaim places like the community social halls and sort off re-brand them.

I see the vision but all we can do now is wait and see how it goes and I am sure if there is any way any of us can come in to help in fulfilling the vision, then why not?

My concern, however, is how often we go to these spaces.

Do we seclude ourselves and conclude that these spaces are only meant for creatives?

Do we even go for free movie screenings or pay to watch the stage plays showcased in these theatres?

I believe we can start cultivating a habit of willingly going into such spaces and enjoying the shows.

Away from the live staged shows in spaces like the Kenya National Theatre, Signature Auditorium, Phoenix Theatre and the like, there are places like Alliance Francaise and Goethe Institut, where they often have free movie screening days.

There are also up-and-coming movie spaces, such as Unseen Nairobi, where they have movie screenings, but they are paid for, which is worth it, by the way.

Lest we forget, there is DocuBox, which usually hosts the Shorts, Shorts and Shots event, where people come together to watch short films while wearing shorts and drinking shots.

All these showcasings have one thing in common: edutainment. In other words, educative entertainment.

We all should develop a habit of making theatre halls our companions.

I don’t know about you, but cinemas, as well as Netflix and chilling at home, can be boring sometimes and too common.

Going out for free movie screenings and paying to watch numerous stage plays is exciting and very engaging.

As an introvert who adores art and as an actress, I really do enjoy the pre- and post interactions I get to have with new people.

I love that I get to appreciate local creativity and content as well as get a chance to see how beyond Kenya, the continent is beautiful in many ways through films.

Since some of my friends are in these spaces, I also get a chance to support their art.

I challenge you, dear reader, to go to these spaces physically and look out for upcoming movie screenings and stage plays.

You can even check for schedules online if the institution has an active social media space.

Pick one movie screening to go to and one stage play to attend every month. Whether you are paying or not.

I know that every month, you will get to learn new things and embrace our local content and the creatives behind the work we get to watch and enjoy.

Make the detours a culture.