GOSPEL OF APOSTLE DENNIS
Mugambi Nthiga – Book and Lyrics ; Eric Wainaina and Chris Adwar - Music and Lyrics
Playing out over the course of a church service, The Gospel tells the story of a young Nairobi pastor who fulfills his duties well, but desperately yearns for the power and charisma of the Western preachers he grew up watching. When the service is upset by a miracle gone fatally wrong, Apostle defies his higher-ups and takes it on himself one last time to find ‘The Fire’.
Writer & Composer Profiles
Mugambi Nthiga, Writer
Mugambi is a Kenyan actor, writer and director. His career began in the Nairobi theatre scene in the early 2000's, followed by a year-long acting stint in recession-era Philadelphia, where he worked on whatever stage play, musical or short he could get cast in.
He would later return to Kenya and land principle roles in M-Net’s Pan-African TV drama ‘Changes’ and in the celebrated films ‘Nairobi Half Life’ (2012) and ‘Stories Of Our Lives’ (2015).
Mugambi went on to co-write the feature film ‘Kati Kati’ (2016), which premiered at TIFF and won the FIPRESCI Prize in the Discovery section., and was the head writer on 'Supa Modo' (2018), which premiered at Berlinale, and went on to win over 50 prizes worldwide, including the ECFA Award for Best European Film For Children.
His directorial debut ‘Lusala’ premiered in Nairobi in June 2019, and internationally at the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2020.
Mugambi is also part of Kenya's premiere improv comedy collective, ‘Because You Said So’, which hosts sold-out shows every two months.
Chris Adwar, Composer
Chris Adwar is a Kenyan singer, songwriter, and music producer who plays Keyboards and Trombone. He has been active in the music scene since 1998 and has played the role of Musical Director and Music Producer for some of Kenya’s finest musicians.
He has co-written and produced songs such as “Gua” and “Bai” (Emmanuel Jal [S.Sudan/Canada]) which featured on the Emmy award-winning medical drama E.R and Hollywood blockbuster Blood Diamonds starring Leonardo Di Caprio.
He also co-wrote and produced the Emmy Award-winning song “Say Yes For The Children” for UNICEF. He was part of the cast of Tinga Tinga Tales Of Africa that had a successful run in September 2018 at the Kenya National Theatre, and October 2018 at the New Victory Theatre, Broadway, New York.
Eric Wainaina, Composer
Eric Wainaina has released five studio albums, "Sawa Sawa," "Twende Twende," "Love and Protest" and "Dreams In Stereo." However, it all began with the release of "Daima Kenya" in 2001.
He has a long-standing career in musical theatre. In 2004, he wrote and co-starred in "Mo Faya," a 21-piece musical theatre showcase inspired by the legend of Lwanda Magere, a mythical warrior in Luo folklore. The musical was staged for 8 weeks in Nairobi before a national tour spanning 52 shows. It was then selected for performance at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2009.
In 2004, he wrote and co-starred in "Mo Faya." The musical was staged at the GoDown Arts Centre, Nairobi, before being selected for performance at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2009.
In 2010, he wrote and produced the music for "Tinga Tinga Tales." The programme was later adapted into a musical and presented at the New Victory Theatre on Broadway in New York in October 2018.
In 2016, he established The Nairobi Musical Theatre Initiative with Sundance dramaturg Roberta Levitow to offer African artists new and alternative models for creating musicals. The initiative has catalyzed the creation of 11 Kenyan musicals.