In The Gods Must Be Krazy, Mudavo is a middle-aged accountant who plans to meet the family of his girlfriend Clare (Clare Wahome) after three years of dating.

However, his orphan background brings out the lost touch of tradition from many cultural traditions and expectations around marriage, thus creating a conflict between Clare’s family and himself.

This satirical comedy by Millaz Productions Kenya will be staged on May 29 and 30 at the Kenya National Theatre.

Written by playwright Emmanuel Chindia, the production uses farce and exaggerated humour to examine the conflict between tradition and modern beliefs of marriage and relationships.

However, the experience spirals into chaos as family expectations, cultural traditions, and conflicting beliefs clash. Chindia says Mudavo represents middle-aged men who face pressure to settle down and start families.

“He really loves Clare and wants to have order in his life. His end goal is having a family with her. But something is stopping it, and modernity and traditions clash,” Chindia says.

The production explores generational conflict through the interactions between younger and older family members during the traditional marriage negotiations.

The aunties and uncles are the main source of conflict through marital advice and expectations they impose on Clare and Mudavo.

“The aunties and uncles spark the question of whether some traditions are right or wrong. They disagree with certain traditions and question whether some practices still matter today,” he says.

It also introduces a group of friends who disrupt the ceremony and add comedy.

Though the play centres around dowry and marriage customs, Chindia says the production deliberately avoids focusing on one specific community.

It came from extensive research into traditional ceremonies and relationship expectations in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

“We tried to infuse different cultures because Kenya is diverse, and I did not want people to feel like we were stereotyping anyone,” he said.

The title The Gods Must Be Krazy interrogates the absurdity of certain traditions which Chindia expresses have no impact even when they are not followed.