I Will Marry When I Want is one of the famed Kenyan playwright Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s most revered plays. Set in post-independence Kenya, the play is a searing look at the legacies of colonialism and the myriad difficulties Kenyans faced in the aftermath of their successful overthrow of British colonial rule. It is renowned for its Marxist critique as well as its interweaving of lyrical and metaphysical elements. The play was written in Gĩkũyũ and was entitled Ngaahika Ndeenda.
Ngugi co-wrote the play with another Kenyan playwright, Ngugi wa Mirii. It was first performed in Kenya in 1977 at the Kamiriithu Community Education and Cultural Centre, an open-air theater in Limuru, Kenya. Ngugi...
