There is a new wind blowing over Kampala. And that is story telling. For long, Kampala has been known as the East African nightlife capital because of its ever-vibrant nightlife.
Night clubs that run till the morning hours and bars that never close, set the foundation. Supplemented by low incidence of crime, ease of movement (with the boda boda) and a readily available variety of street food through the night, Kampala’s nightlife is a full circle.
But there is more. Less than a decade ago, there were more dishes added to the menu of nightlife – live band music and comedy nights. For an uninterrupted period of about eight years, it is fair to say that each bar had a comedy night and a live band night at least once a week for each item. Others would –once in a while –have a karaoke night. But that was for the low end budget night life –which is not a bad thing.
To the laidback folks who prefer less noise and a more conversational night, the theatre is the place to go. However, theatre in Uganda has suffered its own pains that require a full day to talk about.
In its absence, the audience turned to poetry. Poetry nights are not new. They have been around for some time. At one point, they tagged along the many hip hop platforms that had mushroomed across the city but like a candle on an anthill were soon blown off.
With the groups like the Lantern Meet Foundation, poetry found its way to theatre and also dragged people there for their productions. Kitara Nation too was able to achieve the same.
Pior to Covid, the future of the arts seemed very bright. There were various options and different people were finding their footing.
The pandemic locked many of us alone at home. The music was no longer as loud. The bars were closed for less than forever. The night clubs gathered dust. We were left with fewer options like sitting down to listen to each other’s stories.
Africa has always been an oratory society. Family members would sit by the fire and tell stories. Here in Uganda, Ndere Cultural Centre has upheld this custom as a critical component of their cultural nights. It is through stories that education was achieved and customs passed on from one generation to another.
Sitting by the fire place might now be a luxury many cannot afford, but the idea of storytelling remains true to us.
George Kiwanuka is the founder of Story Mic Uganda.
He invites friends and they sit in the Uganda Society Library. George loves telling stories as much he loves listening to stories. When he shared the idea with his friends, they welcomed it and they soon joined in the nights of storytelling.
The idea is sinking in and more nights are now coming up and taking shape. Tontoma Poetry Night is one the famous nights that have been around for a while.
Hosted in the basement of Alliance française Kampala along Bukoto Street, the poetry night was founded by Joshua Kagimu alias Rap Poet. The same venue has been home to perhaps the longest existing performing arts platform there has been – Open Mic UG.
The idea of telling stories is grand and easily rolls off from one speaker to another. Unlike comedy or poetry, it does not need the element of performance which makes it easier to share.
There are people like Hack Mukiga, Xenson, Jason Ntaro and Ssebo Lule who have taken it upon themselves to popularize the art. Soo Many Stories, a new publishing entity started story telling clubs for children in lower school. With such dedication, storytelling may be coming out from the background where it had been relegated.
As the economy opens up and we return to life as we knew it, perhaps we will be able to have more of such nights open up and the art of storytelling thrive.
