Amar Desai
Amar Desai is a Nairobi-based theatre producer, creative-arts educator, and co-founder of both Aperture Africa Productions and Creative Education International (CrEd) Kenya. A graduate of Curtin University with a BA in Film, TV & Theatre Studies, he has spent more than two decades teaching drama, previously heading the Performing Arts department at Oshwal Academy and moderating IGCSE Drama for Cambridge Assessment.
In 2013 Desai and his wife Jinita launched Aperture Africa to stage professional-level musicals and comedies at the Kenya National Theatre. Their productions have earned 18 Kenya Theatre Award nominations—including Best Set Design for The Play That Goes Wrong (2024)—and established a pipeline for young Kenyan talent. Through CrEd, he licenses the Helen O’Grady developmental-drama curriculum and Trinity College London examinations to more than 30 schools, using theatre to build communication skills, confidence, and creativity among 4,000 students each year.
Desai’s impact on the performing-arts ecosystem—spanning youth showcases, corporate role-play training, and inclusive casting—won him a spot on Business Daily Africa’s Top 40 Under 40 Men list in 2019 and a Business Excellence Award from Helen O’Grady International. He also sits on the Rhino Charge organising committee, raising funds for forest conservation, and mentors aspiring directors through the Kenya Theatre Academy. Offstage, he enjoys bush-camping with his family, convinced that “art and adventure belong in every classroom.”