“We want to establish the awards as an annual tradition that will always come on the second Thursday of February. This is just the first edition of a tradition that we hope will grow into an event that can become Kenya’s own version of something like the American Academy Awards or the Tony’s.”
Ben Ngobia – 2021/2022 KTA JURY CHAIRPERSON
The Kenya Theatre awards are meant to honour outstanding productions, artists and the legacy of practitioners who have become icons while encouraging and celebrating a blend of innovation and excellence in theatrical productions. By its structure and way of operations, the awards will also document and provide data and statistics of live stage theatrical performances held in Kenya in a given year with details of the venues, the number of performances, Kenyans attending performances and where possible, the revenue generated from theatrical activities.
A jury of five people representing the theatre academia, practitioners, theatre associations, the government and media is tasked with watching all stage performances between January and December of each year. They then hold various jury conferences to evaluate and announce nominees for the awards. The first-ever KTA winners were awarded during the inaugural awards ceremony held on the 17th of February 2022 at the Kenya National Theatre. The 2nd Kenya Theatre Awards ceremony was held on 23rd February 2023 at the same venue.
Art Disciplines Considered
- Drama / Plays / Comedy / Farce (including productions of set works for schools)
- One-Person / Solo Performance Shows
- Musical Theatre (including Musical Revue)
- Dance Theatre, Physical Theatre and Ballet
- Opera
- Tertiary Student/Incubator Theatre
- Spoken word poetry performance
