A peek into the lives of the Buganda royalty

Oct 01, 2004

SINCE little is known about the life of Shakespeare, critics looked to his works to make biographies.

Theatre review: Bassekabaka

Lady Damalie Drama Group
Showing: All over Buganda
Reviewed by: Emmanuel Ssejjengo


SINCE little is known about the life of Shakespeare, critics looked to his works to make biographies.

One view is that Shakespeare himself must have belonged to the lower classes, but with friends in the royal class, who informed him about what went on in the royal courts.

Damalie Mbasega, like Shakespeare, has also done research about the cultural history of Buganda’s royal family.

The typical Ugandan audience finds the play strange. To go to a theatre hall and hear no hilarious laughter, however, tough humoured you are, is only coming back to the Ugandan stage after the theatre of silence during the censorship years of Amin.

With an intricate plot, Mbasega invites us to take in everything and return into the historical moment, which she relives on stage.
Kintu’s heir to the thrown, Chwa (Hussein Musisi), at his tender age, takes over.

Through conversations, we are informed of the circumstances that brought the king to the throne. His father, then a king, disappeared, and nothing was known about his whereabouts.

During that time, the kingdom lacked a leader, yet it needed one. Crowning a new king was no option because the king was probably still well, and returning soon.

Desperate situations call for desperate measures. The queen then takes the throne and for a certain time, rules peacefully.

But tradition would not let her hold onto the throne. Kabaka Chwa is installed as new king. He comes with a fresh leaders. Mwajje is dropped for a young, but drunk Katikiro, Walusimbi (Godfrey Mawejje).

Meanwhile the king takes wife after wife, but saved the best for the last. It is the last who wins his heart. She sits next to him at the court.

The king, obsessed with hunting, goes for escapades in a feared forest. He comes back with his game — a young beautiful woman.

The story unfolds that she is Nakkuzaambwa’s wife. But the Kabaka would not hear of it. All the women in the kingdom belong to him. The young girl discovers this and at that point starts enjoying her position as the king’s favourite wife.

The women in the kingdom are strong indeed. Nabawesi questions the king’s authority of possessing her yet she is already married to another man. On the contrary, the husband is only too happy that the Kabaka admires his wife.

At the end, Chwa is tormented by the loss of his father. He goes on a journey to look for his father.

The same circumstances that gave him the kingship prevail. And what was done before is to be done. Nabawesi has to rule as she waits for her husband’s return. Curtains are drawn!

The playwright poses serious gender issues. Her man is on the same footing as the woman. Man and woman both rule. Incidentally, the woman even stands strong in face of a calamity. Nabawesa willingly takes the seat when the king runs. He simply cannot survive without the father.

Relations between Buganda and Bunyoro are portrayed as good. Visitors come to present the Kabaka with gifts on taking on a new bride. But things start going sour when they admire the king’s bride, while she dances with them.

The acting is pathetic. Better to ignore it for the plot. There are no bark cloth costumes to reflect time and geographical setting.

The songs are very central to the play as they provide explanatory notes. The mood of celebration is also depicted therein.

For shock effect, the narration comes at the end and not at the beginning or the middle. The audience actually gets fooled that the play is still going on only for the curtains to be drawn.

On the king’s mind is one thing. Will this new wife, so beautiful and looking so fertile, give me a son to take over the throne? Is this to implore the current Kabaka of Buganda to provide the kingdom with an heir?

With the timing, it is hard to avoid federo conceptions.
From whatever viewpoint you look at it, disturbing questions come to mind. It is a provocative play, but does not answer most of the questions it raises.

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