Why Little Theatre Club is still a sleeping giant

The intrigues surrounding the Little Theatre Club, Kenya’s second largest theatre situated in Mombasa, still persist two years since it was renovated.

In 2017, the government pumped Sh50 million into the renovation of the neglected monument that once hosted great productions and talents.

The theatre, which was initially used by the British Royal Navy as a Fleet Club during the Second World War, has never been officially reopened. It is now marred by infighting and conflicts between management and artistes.

In July last year, the government through the ministries of Tourism and Wildlife and Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development handed over the theatre to the management after completion of the renovation. The club started holding activities in August last year.

But for almost a year, the reopening of the national monument was postponed several times due to changes in the renovation process. This year’s coronavirus pandemic further dealt a blow to the activities of the theatre, stalling its official reopening.

Early this year, the LTC started staging plays, but the pandemic halted operations.

Now, youthful artistes led by Daniel Kinyanjui, alias Dan Sonko, are planning to ‘save’ the LTC from what they term mismanagement.

“There has been a lot of mismanagement of funds at the LTC in terms of helping and supporting the club. But most concerning is the complete disregard of the objective of the club. The club’s constitution was drafted in 1988. Its main objective is to promote culture and art, with special emphasis on performing arts, but that has not been the case for long,” said the thespian.

Tendering process

Their main bone of contention is the tendering process, which they claimed was flawed.

The auditorium has been playing second fiddle to the bar, stressed the artiste.

“In February, the tendering was awarded and I raised the red flag, because I wanted fairness especially to those who had bid. But they have refused to do a forensic audit,” claimed Mr Sonko.

He claimed the management of LTC is promoting the bar instead of the LTC. This is after the LTC outsourced the running of the bar and restaurant.

Mr Sonko, a father of two, says he has tried to resolve the issues with the management but his efforts have not been fruitful.

“I have begged the chairman to dialogue but he has refused. Artistes have been neglected, they are not allowed access as freely as they would want. There are a lot of injustices at the LTC. I resigned from a post I held at the club because I  was frustrated,” he added.

Eight months ago, he led an artistes’ demonstration after the bar and restaurant business was handed over to a private investor.

“Artistes should be fully involved in management of the club affairs,” he added.

“We are scared. If we lose that space we will suffer. I walked into LTC in 1987 when I was taken there by my sister. It has played a major role in moulding the person I am today,” Mr Sonko added.

However, LTC chairman Peter Odote says the rift began when LTC outsourced the running and management of its bar and restaurant.

“In the annual general meeting, Mr Sonko proposed and supported the outsourcing of a new business entity to run the bar and restaurant, which we advertised and Talentos Club won the tender. We do not know why he is making noise. The committee decided to outsource so as to generate funds to settle our huge bills and further support the theatre,” Dr Odote insisted.

The chairman defended Talentos Club, saying it easily blends with the club operations since the investor who won the tender is interested in art and theatre.

Dr Odote says Mr Sonko breached the club’s rules, hence his suspension by the committee two months ago.

The chairman said a special AGM was held on August 3 last year to deliberate on how to deal with bills that were accumulating.

“We were paying security to maintain the place and the staff. We started doing fundraising, we tried a launch but we couldn’t because it hadn’t been officially handed over to us,” Dr Odote added.

The theatre was closed in 2017, opened and handed over in 2019 but this year, its operations became minimal due to the coronavirus pandemic and containment measures put in place by the government.

Dr Odote says he does not know why the artistes are ‘making noise’.

“We invited the artistes to come up with a timetable so that they can use the different spaces, including the auditorium, in a structured manner,” he added.

The outgoing chairman says theatre has potential to expand in the region if it is linked to the TV industry and the silver screen to increase earnings.

Pure volunteering

“Theatre alone may not have a lot of income. When we used to do our theatre we were employed, so it was easy, but the generation left the scene. From pure volunteering to earning. But once you perfect the stage act, you can move to silver screen and make money,” adviced Dr Odote.

He lauded artistes, including Antony Mbithi and filmmaker David Anguka.

Dr Odote said his reign as a chairman has seen him fulfil some of the major infrastructural challenges.

“When we came in, we promised to improve infrastructure, which was falling apart, and we have succeeded. It has been the greatest achievement. But the two-year closure affected us. Nonetheless it was for a good cause,” added the research scientist.

When he came in, the club had less than 100 members. Today it has grown to 130.

He blamed the closure of the club on low membership. But he lauded the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife for supporting the LTC.

Dr Odote joined the LTC in 1984 when he first went on stage in a support role in a play dubbed ‘The God’s are not to Blame’.

“I was in my 20s while working at Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (Kemfri) as a research scientist. I used to go there as a hobby but with time we started participating in most of the shows,” he added.

He urged the incoming management to spur growth and implement the strategic plan.

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