What are the playwriter's main concerns in Act One?

The first pages of the long first act necessitate some background, as well as an explication of some of the themes, which are already pervasive even in this early chapter. The play is set in post-colonial Kenya; the Mau Mau uprising, which brought about the state of emergency referred to by the characters, eventually led to the British relinquishing their imperial control over their colony and Kenya becoming a republic.

One of the other themes that are laid out in this first section is that of the clash between modernity and tradition. Gathoni, Wangeci and Kĩgũũnda’s daughter, embodies the youthful desire to push boundaries, make one’s own choices, and live a life free from the strictures of her parents. Gathoni is the character who first utters the phrase, “I shall marry when I want. / Nobody will force me into it!” (16.) This is her act of defiance: to dress, talk, and act as she pleases (her beau buys her platform shoes, for example) -- and then, of course, to marry whomever she wants. Interestingly, this is still framed within very traditional notions of a woman’s role in life -- to be a wife and a mother -- but it does represent a societal change that Gathoni thinks she has the ability to make any choices in this regard.