Too Early For Birds returns to the stage this April with its ninth edition, ‘Shawry for Trees: The Roots of a Revolutionary’, a theatrical tribute to the life and legacy of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangarĩ Maathai.
Running from April 10 to April 12, 2026, the production will feature five performances at Nairobi’s 800-seater Jain Bhavan auditorium, marking another milestone for the acclaimed storytelling collective.
The new edition centres on Maathai’s extraordinary journey as an environmentalist, academic, politician and activist whose work reshaped Kenya’s civic and ecological landscape.
Drawing from her triumphs, controversies and defining moments, alongside chance encounters and twists of fate, the production seeks to humanise one of the country’s most revered figures while celebrating her enduring influence.
Fifteen years after her passing, the show offers audiences a chance to encounter her story anew, framed through art as a form of practice and resistance, much as biology was for Maathai herself.
Rooted in Kenya’s oral traditions, the production uses orature and contemporary performance to connect historical memory with present-day concerns.
Many members of the creative team come from communities shaped by the grassroots movements Maathai helped inspire, including the women who planted trees and challenged authoritarian rule.
Their approach, described as “digging to the roots of history,” blends rigorous research with imaginative storytelling and what the team calls a touch of ancestral magic.
‘Shawry for Trees’ is written by Abigail Arunga, Wacuka Mũngai and Ras Mengesha, edited by Ndinda Kioko, and produced by Sheba Hirst, with marketing led by Mũtwĩri Njagĩ.
It builds on the legacy of Too Early For Birds, which, since 2017, has reinterpreted Kenyan history for new generations, selling out more than 90 per cent of its performances. The play troupe made waves in 2024, with their production of Tom Mboya, which explored his life and legacy.
As with previous editions, this production aims not only to “entertain but to preserve cultural heritage and inspire reflection on the values that continue to shape the nation”.
