NAIROBAE
Aroji Otieno - Book and Lyrics;
Barbara ‘Sage’ Ng’eno and Marjorie Ng’eno - Music and Lyrics
Nkoba, a young woman frustrated by her daily routine, leaves her village for Nairobi with a dream for a better life. On a whim, she leaves behind her mother and child. In Nairobi, she encounters constant challenges on her journey to success until she stumbles upon social media and becomes an overnight sensation. Life at the top is not what she imagined, and her past mistakes soon come to haunt her.
Writer & Composer Profiles
Aroji Otieno, Writer
Aroji Otieno is the founder and Artistic Director of Bold Theatre KE, a cultural and artistic institution that uses art as a tool to promote social justice, focussing on patronage, training, production, and community service. Prior to that, he worked as the Creative & Content Director of FilmAid Kenya, a communication-based humanitarian organization that disseminates life-saving information and offers psychological relief through creative media programs in Refugee Camps within East Africa.
Aroji, has participated in various theatre workshops, including, the LaMama Umbria director’s workshop, Sundance Institute Theatre Lab, Nairobi Music Theatre Writing Lab, Kampala International Theatre Festival, Crossing Boundaries Theatre Festival in Ethiopia and Kerala Annual Theatre Festival.
He has written several plays, articles, and short stories. His short-play, ‘An Eritrean Lesson’ was performed in the NOW AFRICA Festival 2016, at The National Black Theatre (New York).
His article on Kenyans Theatre was published in the International Theatre Institute annual magazine (ITI-Japan).
Barbara ‘Sage’ Ng’eno, Composer
Barbara Chemutai Ng'eno aka Chemutai Sage/Sage, is a kenyan soul singer, songwriter and multi instrumentalist. She is a classically trained pianist (Kenyan Conservatoire of music) and self-taught guitarist. Straight out of highschool she went on to do background vocals and play keyboard for Kenyan musician MDQ.
She subsequently played for several bands; Ministry of love (Country Rock), Jazz Girls (All girl jazz band) and Le Tortue (Rock). Sage went solo in 2011. She recorded and released her debut album 'Expose Yourself' in 2015.Her song 'So Alive' from the album was well received internationally. Another song from the album, 'Heaven', was featured on the soundtrack for award winning Kenyan feature film 'Rafiki'.
Apart from music, she holds a degree in International Relations from the United States International University - Africa.
Her focus was Developmental Issues in Africa. She is passionate about mental health and has been vocal about her struggle with depression.
Chemutai Sage is currently recording her sophomore album and has gone into classical composition sparked by her love of classical orchestra music.
She is a songwriter for the musical 'Nairobae', which she began working on in June 2018 at the Nairobi Musical Theatre Initiative Workshop.