FEATURE
CAN ‘SHACKLES OF DOOM’ MAKE IT
BY FERDINAND OMONDI
T
FROM STAGE TO SCREEN?
of negative ethnicity and marginalization - particularly the direct reference to the Kikuyu community. However, on appeal, the High Court ordered Cleophas Malala’s script to be performed in its original version. Butere Girls duly obliged and before a packed audience at Aga Khan hall in Mombasa, they received a wild standing ovation. It would later go viral on the Internet, and yes, it was also pirated for distribution! Which begs the question; Can Shackles of Doom be adapted for screen and cause the same storm? Is it time Movie Producers took advantage of its controversy, notoriety and popularity for blockbuster success? Does Shackles of Doom have the foundation for a good movie? John Yorke, a celebrated British TV Producer and current Controller, BBC Drama Production, once wrote in The Guardian that, “the elements of a great script are essentially the same” ‘ Once upon a time, in such and such a place, something happened. In basic terms that’s about it – the very best definition of a story’. Shackles of Doom, is a great script by that definition. It picked up the touchy topic of ethnicity, nepotism and marginalization - a very resonant synopsis in Kenyaand captivated its watchers. A good script maketh a
he 2013 schools and colleges drama festivals ended with two items etched in national memory: Otonglo Time and Shackles of Doom.
Otonglo time shot to fame when President Kenyatta was filmed laughing hysterically at the State House concert, as narrator Daniel Owira told the story of one Ogwang’ Fumbe’s woes in search of Otonglo (money) in Nairobi. Owira, a slum boy whose mother could hardly pay his school fees, earned himself a State House visit, where the President ‘adopted’ him and promised to pay his tuition fees up to university level. Soon after, he landed an Advert deal rumoured to be worth about Ksh 200,000 and word on the street is that several local TV dramas are after his signature. In fact, he is already on Citizen’s Inspekta Mwala. Shackles of Doom, on the other hand, earned national spotlight via the ever reliable controversy street. It won the western region festivals, only to be banned by national festival chiefs on grounds that it ‘undermined national cohesion and integration clauses.” Translation; several forces felt uncomfortable at the brutally candid manner in which the play tackled the sensitive matter
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Chronicle | July 2013