The
stage is the courtyard beside the Maryknoll parish church in the Tudor section
of Mombasa, Kenya. The audience is children except for catechists Jackson
Wanjohi and Stephen Nyamwanza, plus Father James Roy, the pastor who has invited
two American visitors to observe the religious education classes.  The script is
the Gospel stories of Jesus, and the actors are chosen by Wanjohi and Nyamwanza
in consultation after the parable is read.  Boys and girls shout to be
recognized.  There is no trouble filling the cast — even the unusual role of
pigs whose food tempts the desperate Prodigal Son.  The American visitors don’t
speak Kiswahili, but no matter, the stories of the Good Samaritan, the Wedding
Feast and the Prodigal Son are familiar, and the actors play their parts with
verve and enthusiasm, paraphrasing and improvising without a trace of hesitation
or bashfulness characteristic of counterpart productions in the U.S.  “African
people are raised on stories, on oral tradition," explains Roy.  "They are born
storytellers and actors.”