ROOTS is an interdisciplinary project which uses physical, oral, and audio-visual storytelling to investigate intergenerational trauma and motherhood. The relationships between mothers and daughters are followed across five generations of writer and performer Wanjiku Mwawuganga’s family.
This autobiographical piece was inspired by Wanjiku’s postnatal depression. As a young mother who felt disconnected to her children and society’s idea of what motherhood ought to be, Wanjiku created ROOTS to find healing. As an artist whose works are heavily influenced by History, Wanjiku sought to find herself and her own take on motherhood through the history of the women who raised her.
Through the exploration of her family’s history, Wanjiku considers the effects of colonialism on women and how trauma was passed down from generation to generation. She explores the effects of epigenetics on the modern-day young black woman, as well as the effects of colonialism in erasing family history, and the impact of this on identity for modern women. The show carries the audience through a journey where Wanjiku explores the experiences that shaped the women before her and through ritual she offers them reprieve as she finds her own healing.
The work includes some English surtitles.
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Wanjiku Mwawuganga – Creator and Performer
Leila Anderson – Co Director, Dramaturg and local producer
Kimani Wandaka – Photography Collaborator
Henry Wamai – Technical Director
Image one by Tobias Zangl
Image two by Steenie Njoroge
Produced by Maabara Initiative in collaboration with Spielart Festival Muchën and Zurcher Theatre Spektakel
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Wanjiku Mwawuganga is a Kenyan Artist, mostly known for her work as a theatre director. Among the shows she has worked on are her directorial debut; ‘We Won’t Forget’ which toured East Africa and was featured in the Jalada Literally Mobile Festival, 2017. And Sitawa Namwalie’s; “Taking My Father Home”, 2020. She is an Alumni of the DAH Theatre International Summer School; class of 2019 and a scholarship holder of the Zürcher Theater Spektakel 2020 Watch and Talk. Her current work, ‘Roots’; opened in Nairobi and was also showcased at the Spielart Festival Müchen 2021, the Zürcher Theater Spektakel 2022 and the Figuren Theatre Festival 2023. ‘Roots’ is currently doing its Tour.
Roots is one of the first performances created within the context of the Maabara Initiative. The practice- oriented collaborative laboratory for artistic research and work processes was founded by Kenyan theatre professionals in 2021 in partnership with Zurcher Theatre Spektakel 2022-2023, supported by Pro Helvetia.
In 2021, Roots was able to tour the Kenyan coast through a partnership between Maabara Initiative and Goethe Institut Nairobi.
