Na-take time yangu, nakupa kitu kali joh Mumeongelea for years Msee atakam awaonyeshe immaculate ideas Na-hope uone ni possible ku-match venye na-think
If those bars do not set the tone for what is about to happen at Carnivore on the 4th of April, I do not know what will, because Nyashinski has taken his time and cooked up a proper experience.
Now, I know exactly what you are thinking: how the Showman Residency is named after the song, right? He dropped Showman in 2022, loved how it sounded, thought “this fits,” and slapped it on a residency and moved on. Reasonable assumption, yes, but completely wrong. The song and the show share a name, the way two strangers share a surname, by coincidence, by the universe having a quiet sense of humor, and in this case, beautifully so. Nyashinski explains that when he wrote the song, the residency was not on his mind.
So where did the concept come from? Back in his Kleptomaniac days, a young artist was already imagining what it would look like to bring real theatrics to a live show, something that fell into a different category from a concert entirely. That idea did not go anywhere but sat at the back of his mind throughout every chapter of his career, waiting and developing in a notebook his team calls the ‘Bible’. Twenty years later, the stars aligned and put together people who would execute this residency.
A crew of 120, including acrobats from Sarakasi Dome, dancers, a choir, actors, and some of the most respected names in Kenyan theatre, including award-winning director Mugambi Nthiga and award-winning producer Gathoni Kimuyu, have been rehearsing to bring this world to life. Scriptwriter Mercy Mutisya, who also appears in the show as the herald, describes it as a circus, but not in the chaotic sense. Think strange, nameless characters, each one representing a state of Kenyan society, moving through different segments of music and story. And then there is the detail that made me sit up properly. The Showman Residency features a Greek chorus. In ancient Greek theatre, the chorus was a group of performers, sometimes as many as fifty, who moved, sang, and spoke as one unified voice. They were not traditional characters but represented the public conscience, the emotional narrator of the play, the collective feeling of a society made flesh on stage. I will let you sit with that.
Now, here’s what you need to know if you are coming for the residency, which you should be…
The show runs across seven segments, each anchored by songs you know, stripped of their concert context and set in a living theatrical world. Nyashinski curated this show for someone who has never heard a single one of his songs, which is the kind of storytelling standard that will keep you on your toes the entire night. The show will be two hours and forty minutes, with no intermission. Regular shows will host up to 3,000 people in a mixed-seating format. The VIP experience, capped at 1,000 guests, comes with premium seating and a proper Carnivore dinner with drinks, because if you are going to do it, do it right. Seven performances run from April 4 to April 12 across two weekends, with a special midweek VIP show in between for something more intimate.
Hugh Jackman played P.T. Barnum in a top hat, and the world called him the Greatest Showman. And we love Hugh, we really do. But we have a Showman at home….
And even though Nyashinski did not write the song Showman as a trailer for the residency, listen to how it ends:
Come see me live on stage. The night will be amazing; one you will never forget. It’s all for you. I made this gift for you, just to show I love you
Whether he meant it for this moment or not, the man wrote his own invitation.
To all those who will experience the G.O.A.T for the first time, your ears are in for a treat, and for those who are die-hard fans, I hope mna revise…
Grab your tickets now at nyashinski.co.ke
