The production company Too Early For Birds has announced the return of the play based on Wangari Maathai’s life, dubbed ‘Shawry for Trees: The Roots of a Revolutionary’ after its successful run in April.
The rerun will return from September 25 to 27, dates that coincide with the 15th anniversary of the Nobel Laureate’s death.
The play centres on Maathai’s extraordinary journey as an environmentalist, academic, politician and activist whose work reshaped Kenya’s civic and ecological landscape.
Drawing from her triumphs, controversies and defining moments, alongside chance encounters and twists of fate, the production seeks to humanise one of the country’s most revered figures while celebrating her enduring influence.
Scene from the Wangari Maathai play which ran in April
In a statement seen exclusively by KBC Digital, organisers honoured Dr Maathai as a visionary.
“As one of the continent’s most honoured women and figures, Professor Dr Wangarĩ Maathai stood tall in everything she did,” they said. “In her roles as a mother, professor, member of parliament, assistant minister, activist, writer, farmer and ultimately, Nobel Peace Prize winner in December of 2004, Wangarĩ Maathai epitomised the best of what Kenya could and continues to offer.”
The play was first conceptualised after a TikTok video went viral in which a young Kenyan forgot Dr Maathai’s name and called her “shawry for trees”.
“[After] eight successful editions, exactly 15 years after her passing, we get another chance to lionise her story on stage. The show is guided by the principles that guided Wangarĩ Muta Maathai’s life, work, and legacy,” the statement continued. “She practised her politics through her skill in her field. Art is, to us, what biology was to her. We consider ourselves part of her children. The African People to whom she dedicated ‘The Challenge For Africa.’”
The play was written by Abigail Arunga, Wacuka Mũngai, and Ras Mengesha, and is edited by Ndinda Kioko based on research from Kĩmemia Macharia, Nyagũthiĩ A. Murage, Meran Randa and Mũthoni Mwangi.
The shows will take place at the Jain Bhavan Auditorium in Loresho at the following times:
Friday: 7:00 PM
Saturday: 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM
Sunday: 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM
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