As the 63rd National Drama and Film Festivals reaches the fever pitch, presentations depicting the state of nation’s affairs are peaking.

Themes surrounding corruption, murders, abductions, poverty and exclusion of the young generations dominated presentations on the sixth day yesterday.

Karima Girls stole the show at the Nakuru venue with their play titled Walls of Jericho, which features a fictitious Cat Kingdom.

In their play, the students fused creativity and symbolism to bring out the story that revolved around a character called Macavity, a large, imposing cat, who builds a high wall to stop a group of kittens from accessing much-needed meat at the local butchery.

As the kittens face the threat of starvation, their struggle becomes the focal point.

The kittens, worried about their survival, devise a plan to scale the wall.

“This play depicts what is happening in a society where the people are coming up with innovative ways to remove the barriers that block them from accessing resources,” said Dennis Gichangi, a teacher at the school.

The vulnerable kittens’ parents are allegedly killed by the ‘big cat’ family, who goes ahead and creates the narrative that they died from hunger.

To stop the kittens of Jericho from dying of hunger, Lady Macavity promises to supply them with daily food from the butchery. However, the supply is cut even before the mourning ends.

As donations dried up, Lady Macavity says: “Promises, Promises, promises, my paw! You can eat my word but not my food.”

Lady Macavity, from her comfort behind the tall walls, refers the kittens as “thieves of Jericho” and must be kept away from accessing her because she believes it’s a cat-eat-cat society.

“If you are not eating, then you are probably being eaten,” says Lady Macavity often.

While the kittens scrounge for survival, one of them comes up with an innovative idea of a laser machine to help them scale up the wall and invade Lady Macavity’s kingdom. They believe that “a true Jerican does not rely on food remains from the big cats”.

But accessing the other side of the fence is not easy, as Lady Macavity’s intelligence is sharp. She directs the activation of “anti-protest protocols against thieves of Jericho”. The kittens are shot and teargassed.

Just like last year’s Gen Z protesters braved police bullets and teargas to make their way into Parliament, one of the most protected areas, the little kittens of Jericho manage to use their laser technology to invade Lady Macavity’s residence.

But as chaotic and unprecedented scenes heighten, just like the  Gen Z protests last year, Lady Macavity deploys intensified security that culminates in abductions and more shootings.

Through Lady Macavity’s guard, the kittens find out that their parents were killed by Lady Macavity and that the butchery that she operated belonged to their late parents. The kittens finally take over their butchery.

At the end of their presentations, the characters wittingly told Lady Macavity that it was all a play that was enacted to teach her a lesson that she should be understanding and that Jericho was for all “Jericans”. That there were no bigger cats.

Although relayed through the innovative use of animal theatre techniques where casts adorned in masks and face paint to portray their animal characters, these scenes bring out the scenes that played out last year in the anti-government protests.

“I am a two-faced character in the play. A loyal person to my boss, Lady Macavity, but also malicious and kind. When it comes to the vulnerable in society, I have a heart to listen to them because the country is all ours and I spill the bad secrets,” said Joan Karanja, who played as Macavity’s guard.

Tamara Vugutsa, who was cast as one of the kittens, said the play resonates with what the younger generation feels. “We feel there is a disconnect between the older and the younger generation who are yearning to be understood.” 

Lady Macavity character Treasure Kinyani said theatre was critical in society. “It feels great when art is appreciated. It feels great seeing the audience getting captivated because they resonate with that play.” 

The play comes days after the bungled Butere performance, which was deemed “too hot for the stage”, yet Karima Girls portrayed similar themes, just like may other schools.