The Matatu From Watamu That Drove Into The Sea

If I had to write about this musical in one word, I’d say –IT WAS THE BEST MUSICAL EVER! From the title, there is no doubt that the director and cast of the musical had a tall order, first to create the matatu, and then to create a sea for it to drive into. And they managed both tasks superbly.

I attended the show on Sunday, 16th of May 2010 at Sarakasi Dome in Ngara, Nairobi. And like at every Storymoja event, there was the Storymoja book stand, the Storymoja banners, and smiling Storymoja staff to welcome me at the entrance. I walked into the theatre, and found not a stage but a sea. The transformation made me feel like I was underwater somewhere deep in the ocean.

The story involves a matatu driver, Rasta Driver (Joshua Ogutu Moraya), who sees an opportunity to establish a thriving transportation business underwater. And so he plunges his matatu into the sea, against the advice of the KWS warden (Valentine Wambui Kamau). He gets a sidekick, Octopus the conductor, who is the biggest and scariest octopus I’ve ever seen. His mere sight makes the fish scuttle in fear. You would be tempted to think he actually is a matatu conductor in real life. But he is a musician with a band called Inyamumbo, and his name is Moses Akati.