Kenya National Theatre is set to join the giants of Hollywood in children’s category after "Tinga Tinga Tales" got accepted to perform in an off-Broadway theatre.
The Children’s cartoon is set to perform for two weeks this October at New Victory Theater in New York City, USA.
The show is created by a multiple British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) winner Claudia Lloyd and Kenyan musician Eric Wainaina.
This particular international edition is a 2016 musical adaptation which stars a break-dancing Rastafarian Tortoise, a hippopotamus which soul sings and an Elephant with expertise in Jazz.
Tinga Tinga Tales, which aired on Citizen TV before the adaptation, seeks to educate children by answering questions about the animal Kingdom such as why the tortoise has broken shells on its back.
New York is, however, not the first international destination to host the celebrated show, British Broadcasting Corporation also commissioned it.
Mr Wainaina, the show’s composer and musical director who plays its head character, the Monkey, couldn’t hide his joy after receiving the news. He stated, “I'm thrilled to be able to give back to an audience that I've borrowed so much from."
He further added that he is happy to present the African manifestation of music he had been listening to for the USA audience.
Lloyd was also overjoyed over the news stating that she believed the show would be greater than the Kenyan market it has already grabbed. It attracted full theatres in Nairobi City since its debut.
The only hope, she continued, was that the show would spread out to other “Pan-African capital cities and spread the Tinga-love a bit.”
