If you frequented the Nakuru players’ theatre before 2010, you must have noticed two iron rods next to the entrance of the theatre.

According to Barbushe Maina, a member of the theatre's management team, the rods were used by the Freemasons to signify the centre of Nakuru town, by calculating the distance from Nakuru to the next town.

“The building dates back to the colonial era (around 1930) and was owned by the Freemasons group which named it 'Nakuru Masonic lodges’. They could conduct their meetings here,” he reveals.

According to Mr Maina, in 1954, the Masonic Lodge on Garland Avenue (currently Kipchoge Avenue), together with its grounds was purchased by 15 individuals from the Nakuru European community at 1500 pounds.

Using donations from the community, Nakuru Europeans rebuilt the Lodge into a modern theatre and officially launched it to the public on Friday 25 July, 1958, filling the entertainment gap that was there in Nakuru.

“During the white’s leadership in the 50s & 60s, Africans were restricted from accessing the theatre. They were only working as labourers but sometimes they would role-play as servants or extras in plays organized by the Whites,” Mr Maina says.

He noted that part of the money collected as an entrance fee during the pre-colonial times, was used as a donation to aid in the construction of the Nakuru War Memorial Hospital, as the audience mostly consisted of nurses and soldiers who participated in World War II and the colonial administrators in Nakuru.

“From a retrospective perspective, the history of the theatre can then be divided into two parts. The first part consists of the colonial history of the theatre, while the second part consists of its post-independence development,” says Simon Thuo, a performing artist who doubles up as part of the management in this facility.

Mr Thuo says it took a while before Africans could become members and administrators at the theatre, even after independence.

“Despite the acquisition of independence, the Nakuru Players Theatre took some time to revert to indigenous management. It was not until the mid-1990s that indigenous Africans began to acquire membership in the theatre on a large scale,” he says.

Address boxes belonging to the first white owners who bought the theatre from the Freemasons and the current administration managing the theatre.

Photo credit: PURITY KINUTHIA/MTAA WANGU

When asked about the address box located at the entrance of the theatre, he explains that they are symbolic and represent the original owners of the theatre, together with the current administrative management.

“From the '60s going forward, most members of the theatre received their mail through here. That is why we have these boxes here,” says Mr Thuo.

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How Freemasons and war memorial hospital are linked to Nakuru players' theatre

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