All set for this year’s national drama and film festival in Nyeri
Youth from St. Joseph Mukasa Kahawa West Catholic Church perform a play titled Veil of Silence during the drama festival at Holy Innocents Tassia Catholic Parish in September 2025.
This year’s Kenya National Drama and Film Festival will be held at Kagumo Teachers Training College in Nyeri starting from April 6 to 17.
This co-curricular activity, which offers a stage to learners from pre-school to university, will see teams perform between April 7 and 13.
The Director-General in the Ministry of Education, Dr Elyas Abdi, said the gala performances are scheduled to take place on April 14 and 15.
“In order to manage time well, teams have to exercise punctuality and perform according to the programme,” Dr Abdi said.
As per the rules, teachers will be expected to accompany teams from their own schools. The accompanying teachers must be mature, responsible and be with the students at all times
“Only registered teachers will be considered official team leaders at any stage of the festival,” Dr Abdi said. “Teachers accompanying teams will put up with students at the festival accommodation villages. Only female teachers will put up with female students and vice versa.”
Regional quality assurance and standards officers will be responsible for the welfare and discipline of the teams from their respective regions, while regional directors of education will make transport arrangements for the pre-school, primary, junior, secondary and special schools proceeding to Nyeri.
“Accompanying teachers and officials will be held accountable for any malpractices of members and students under their care during the travelling and entire period of the festival,” said Dr Abdi.
Officers in charge of transport from the region should ensure that participants travel during the day time as per the government’s 6am-to-6pm policy.
With reference to the rules and regulations governing the 2026 competition, Dr Abdi said: “They have been crafted to provide not only a framework for excellence but also a foundation for inclusivity, integrity and innovation.”
Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok the 2026 rules and regulations uphold excellence, integrity, and inclusivity, ensuring that performances meet the highest standards while promoting fairness, discipline and respect for intellectual property.
“They provide a structured framework that enhances creativity, accountability, professionalism among participants,” he said.
Kenya National Drama and Film Festival Executive Secretary Janet Langat said that the use of standard backdrop back cloths will be piloted during the national festivals.
“The pilot will be conducted in a few selected halls to allow room for a smooth transition,” Ms Langat said. “Findings from this pilot will inform future directions on this matter.”
The issue of a standard backdrop has been a hot topic, with traditionalists arguing that they are central to tell an effective. Modernists, on the other hand, argue that plot, language and action can tell the story without the use of the set.
Backdrops are canvas props that are painted and usually hung at the back of the stage, depicting a scene or scenes that help amplify the themes of a play.
While the majority of drama producers and directors insist that backdrops are essential in the production of stage plays, music, dances, verses and oral narratives, some argue that they are unnecessary and costly burdens that can be done away with.
The festival’s film categories will include music videos, podcasts (the films category) and live broadcast (on stage, where actors mimic news broadcasters) with “news” of their choice. This year’s festival theme is “bold storyteller, digital stages driving Kenya’s development through theatre and film”.
The Central and Eastern Regional Drama and Film Festival Chairperson, Dr Rebecca Yegon, said it’s important to digitise and reduce the use of physical backdrops while providing opportunities for visual artists to continue practicing their craft.
On the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in storytelling, Dr Yegon said: “It’s important that we develop guidelines that will enable storytellers to benefit from AI without losing their creativity.”
In the universities category, among the teams in the competition is Mount Kenya University who will stage a play on governance scripted by Oliver Minishi and directed by Asige Silingi Bramwel. Zetech University is expected to present a Modern Dance. Other teams expected include Meru University, Tharaka University, SEKU University, Lukenya University, Karatina University, University of Embu,Zetech University, Muranga University and Dedan Kimathi University of Technology.
The University of Embu will perform “Jowi”, a cultural creative dance that captures the story of the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
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