The team announced a second volume of Too Early For Birds, with new stories, in a move that sought to both push their vision and respond to the heightened demand from those that had attended the first show.
In the second volume, the team decided to explore the stories of pre colonial and post-independence Kenya’s political dissent.
This time the writers were fleshing out stories of the people who have only been mentioned in history books in passing. People whose work has contributed to the relative peace and freedom we enjoy today. Stories of those who rallied for the multi-party system. Those who suffered in the hands of the police for daring to speak out against injustice. Those who died for going against an oppressive regime to imagine a better future for Kenya. People like Reverend Timothy Njoya, Wangari Maathai and The Bukusu Community at the Chetambe and Lumboka war. The show also told the incredible story of how Juja got its name – a story which traverses three continents and includes witchcraft, exploration, decadent settlers and a robbery in Nairobi by Teddy Roosevelt – the former US president.
This time, the stories were told in two days (on July 29th and 30th) and the theatre was full on both.
‘Maybe it is important that we learn of our history in this direct way not as plays or poems or points or prose. Not in immaculate works of fiction and metaphors but rather as direct stories whose only message seems to be ‘This is who you are, do with it as you may.’ read a review by Munene Mwarania , a Capital Campus Correspondent.
