Ken B. Eniwan’s Story

“This is the story of a man
Who always chose one way of living
Even though life gave him
two chances to live.”

Faith pushes us all to take our first step. Fear prevents many of us from the sweet release of death. But what happens when you always choose only one approach to life?

In this story, our protagonist – Ken B Eniwan – journeys through the milestones of his life choosing to live either only by faith or only by fear.

Runtime
50-60 minutes

Genre
Tragi-Comedy, Physical Theatre

Audience
PG-13 (contains some visual references to sex, death and violence)

Language
Primarily non-verbal; with some dialogue in English, Sinhala and Kinyarwanda.

Ken B. Eniwan was first staged at the Genocide Memorial Amphitheatre for the Ubumuntu Festival of Arts & Humanity 2023 in Kigali, Rwanda in July 2023.

The staging was supported by Ubumuntu Festival of Arts & Humanity, and Mashirika Performing Arts & Media Co.

Concept
Ruwanthie de Chickera and Hidaayath Hazeer

Direction
Ruwanthie de Chickera

Script
Ruwanthie de Chickera

Production Design
Hidaayath Hazeer

Produced by
Lihan Mendis and Shazna Zuhyle

Production Manager (Rwanda) Munyeshuri Innocent

Music Design
Hidaayath Hazeer

Set Design
Hidaayath Hazeer

Costume Design
Hidaayath Hazeer and Shala Amarasuriya

Lights Design
Ruwanthie de Chickera

Stage Management
Lihan Mendis, Duminda Sandaruwan and Bhanu Ekanayaka

Production Assistant
Akmal Hamid

Photography
Ayo Adams & Daniel Ecwalu

Cast - Rwanda, July 2023
Sri Lanka (Stages)
Hidaayath Hazeer
Akmal Hamid
Duminda Sandaruwan
Shala Amarasuriya
Bhanu Ekanayake
Lihan Mendis

Rwanda (Mashirika)
Laly Sangano
David Ndongozi
Natacha Karangawa
Nina Salim
__________________

Cast - Pakistan, September 2023
Sri Lanka (Stages)
Hidaayath Hazeer
Akmal Hamid
Duminda Sandaruwan
Shala Amarasuriya
Bhanu Ekanayake
Oshada Kumarikkanda
Tracy Jayasinghe

“… Another outstanding work is Stages Theatre Group's "Baby Steps: a lifetime of tiny decisions." This collaborative play, crafted in partnership with Rwanda and Sri Lanka, was structured into chapters that poignantly capture deeply rooted fears experienced at different junctures in life. Remarkably, the play achieves this profound exploration without relying on vocal expressions, instead delving into the interplay between real-life experiences and the performative aspects of one's identity by skilfully experimenting with shifting tones and modes of realism.

The incredibly detailed insights on family, love. work. power. and friendship made "Baby Steps: A lifetime of Tins Decisions," unfold into an aching play that connects with viewers from every imaginable background. “

- ‘At the Ubumuntu Arts Festival, everything was worth discussing’, Nadia Lobti, The New Times, Wednesday, July 19, 2023