In September 2017, following a hugely successful run at Edinburgh Fringe, the play ‘Half Breed’ was performed at the Soho Theatre in London. Nominated for Best New Play in the 2017 UK Theatre Awards, ‘Half Breed’ is a partly autobiographical dark comedy about finding your voice. It was written by, and starred, Natasha Marshall, whose mother Kega Marshall (née Gay Watts) was a pupil at Sibford from 1974 to 1978 and was Nansen Deputy Games Captain. In the wake of her daughter’s success ~ The Times said ‘Marshall holds our attention: she’s got something special about her’ while the Guardian said ‘Natasha Marshall’s debut show is a little cracker’ ~ Kega has penned the following for The Rocket.
2018 ... the year of reunions! F
or the past few years I have enjoyed attending
the Sibford Old Scholars’ reunion in June. This year’s was particularly memorable because more past pupils from the class of 1978 attended.
Memories and stories Kega and the Class of 78 pictured at the 2018 reunion
were shared as we explored the grounds. What was a particular good memory for me at Sibford was to meet other children who were transracially adopted like myself. My journey has taken many
different paths. This summer I went back to my
country of birth after a gap of 19 years. Returning to Kenya after so many years was a huge emotional undertaking for me and I was glad that my daughters and husband were able to join me on the journey.
I had not seen my birth father,
Matayo, or his 12 children for a very long time. Life always moves on. His children, my half-brothers and sisters, are themselves now
married with their own children. Arriving in Nairobi, my first plan was to make the long trip up to Western Kenya to the city of Kisumu. I was lucky enough to be reunited with Crispus, a dear Kenyan Quaker friend from all those years ago, who helped with translating. Although my birth father and I had exchanged letters, his replies were infrequent and then the communication stopped all together. I was not even sure if he was still living in the same place so it was with much apprehension that I made the journey with faith and hope on my side. The sheer volume of traffic,
combined with the fact that no one seemed to take any notice of the highway code, meant that driving was quite a frightening experience. Heavily laden buses and matatus
(minibuses) filled to capacity were overtaking on dangerous bends and hills – the inevitability of
accidents seemed to be something other road users take for granted. Animals wandered on to the road unattended, and regular police checks were all part of a day’s drive. We drove through
Naivasha and stayed a night in Gilgil before reaching
Kisumu at the start of evening rush hour on market day! I was relieved when we finally found our accommodation overlooking beautiful Lake Victoria. I was determined to find my
father in the Nandi Hills whatever the outcome. On the day of the planned reunion my younger daughter Gemma suddenly fell ill, and we found ourselves at the Aga Khan Hospital at 1am! She had an infection, which was thankfully treatable. Eight hours later, and having only had one hour’s sleep, we were making our way towards Kakamega and Kapsabet on treacherous dirt roads. We got lost several times but were always helped by local people. The dirt track roads became even worse, but at least we were getting closer to where we needed to be. Eventually we reached the
district of Serem and Emugul. This is where the wild countryside started and our road ended. We had to walk up and down hills to find Matayo’s home … but find it we did.
His house is a small clay bricked building with a tin roof and no windows. He has no electricity
The Sibford Rocket / 7
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