The woman behind Kenya’s biggest theatre hits is about to reveal the story that nearly killed her.
Gathoni Kimuyu has spent fifteen years creating other people’s narratives. Too Early For Birds. Machachari. MaEmpress. Hit after hit, she’s been the invisible force turning scripts into cultural moments. The Producer of the Year (2024) who makes magic happen from behind the camera.
But on November 28th, she steps into the light with the story that matters most. Her own.
FREE ME isn’t just Gathoni’s first personal stage project. It’s her truth about surviving a marriage that became a war zone and about finding freedom on the other side of violence.
Based on her own experience, FREE ME follows one woman from teenager to survivor. Through a relationship that promised love but delivered brutality. Based on original works researched and written by Magunga Williams, this production transforms personal trauma into art that could save lives.
The title works both ways: it is a desperate cry for help and a victory anthem for someone who made it out alive.
In Kenya, gender-based violence statistics climb higher each month. Gathoni knows her story carries weight beyond entertainment. She and many others have been lucky to walk away alive, but not many victims are. She knows how close she came to being a statistic instead of a survivor.
The Team
Gathoni has reunited with Mugambi Nthiga, Director of the Year at the Kenya Theatre Awards for 2023 and 2024. Their work on Too Early For Birds and Tom Mboya has become legendary in Kenyan theatre. Venues sell out, and cultural moments happen. And now, they’re channeling that chemistry into something infinitely more personal.
How do you direct someone telling the story of their own survival? How do you stage trauma without causing more harm?
The answer involves five women on stage who embody different parts of a survivor’s journey. Past selves, present reality, future possibilities. All converging in one powerful story of resilience.
Saumu Kombo joins them fresh from winning Best Scripted TV Series at the AMVCA 2025. Her work spans Market Price to Midnight Train. Mercy Mutisya, Best Scriptwriter at the Women In Film Awards 2023, brings experience from Showmax, M-Net, and Netflix. Productions like Untying Kantai and Click Click Bang.
Why This Matters
This is theatre as activism, art as healing, and performance as permission to speak up and refuse to carry shame that was never yours.
For survivors, it offers validation. Your pain matters. Your survival counts. For everyone else, it’s a reminder. The woman serving your coffee, directing your favorite show, or sitting next to you in traffic might be fighting battles you can’t imagine.
Gathoni spent fifteen years telling other people’s stories. Now she’s betting everything on her own truth. In a world where too many women don’t make it out of violent relationships alive, watching someone who did is both heartbreaking and hopeful.
Some stories demand to be told. Some truths refuse to stay buried. This November, witness what happens when Kenya’s most successful female steps into the spotlight with her story.
FREE ME opens at C.U. Shah Jain Bhavan in Loresho on Friday, November 28th at 7 PM. Shows continue through the weekend. Saturday at 3 PM and 7 PM. Sunday at 3 PM and 7 PM. Tickets available here
FREE ME: a cry for freedom from violence, and a declaration of freedom by survivors.
