Viewing Christmas with a London eye

When I heard that the Ebonies were premiering a new play for the festive season, I thought it was going to be another of their musicals exaggerated with Christmas carols, and boy, did I get surprised!

Gimpe (The London Eye), which premiered at Theatre La Bonita last Friday, is anything but merriment. In fact, it will put your lacrimal glands in over just by sensing how devastating this monster called exploitation has become.

Of course, this weird culture we practice leaves you no shortage of things to complain about and Gimpe simply puts down a list of some of the people who should be condemned; quack religious folks, corrupt officials, horrible bosses, promiscuous fellas, stupid girls, murderers, name it.

The plot
The group’s lead actor, Sam Bagenda, a.k.a Dr Bbossa, offers a short description of both monetarily and morally corrupt character that dominates the play: “Arthur Kitaka (Sam Bagenda) is a rich man, whose love for money has exceeded his discretion and he is wreaking havoc in the community. People have worked for him but he never pays them; not with cash and not with respect either. To thank some of them, he sleeps with their mothers, wives and children. Everyone hates this rotten tomato of the village and the situation is about to turn deadly.”

But, in fact, Gimpe highlights a bigger problem beyond just an ill-mannered ‘lady-killer’. The play delves into the world of the so-called corporates who continue to believe that power - be it in monetary terms or authority - can earn you friends while ignoring the reality that it is actually being friendly to people that will pull them towards you.

“When some people get money, they look at it as their new family, friend indeed and their protector but in reality, money cannot protect you. It is the other way round,” explains Bagenda. “The gap between the poor and the rich continues to broaden and fortunately or unfortunately (depending on how you look at it), they both cannot avoid each other.”

There is a big scene in the shape of meditation on the ever-increasing tensions between bosses and their subordinates and the hefty price to pay when the rift reaches its boiling point.

From maids who punish their bosses’ children for the sins of their parents, to employees who murder their bosses’ entire families; a disgruntled soul can lead one to diabolical actions.

You can see, many of the play’s scenes have been plucked out of the newspapers. It is kind of like getting a behind-the-scenes look at what might really be happening in people’s houses and places of work, and I have no doubt that it will leave audiences thinking and rethinking their business home and away.

Bagenda recognises Gimpe as one of their most captivating and educative plays, adding that their job as the theatre fraternity is to identify problems in the community, find the remedy and then inform the audience.

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