I
asked myself why I should stay out to midnight to see a play with
such potentially disturbing subject material?
James Hammond, director and writer, has written this account
of two peoples perspective of the events in Rwanda in 1994, events
which were later confirmed as Genocide, despite several reports
sent to the authorities action was late in being taken. He has
approached this material in a sensitive yet fascinating way.
Dominic
Brewer is ‘The Officer’ who looks in on the situation feeling
increasingly helpless as his concerns are being ignored.
His hands are tied because of burocricy his frustration
increases endangering his very sanity.
Leila Rejali is Michelle a junior
journalist on her first assignment overseas. Initially she seems
to go round in a daze not quite seeing what is happening in front
of her. As the
difficulties escalate and her eyes are opened she ignores her
editors, orders to report on what she sees as the real story, the
events in and around Kigali.
Claire Spence as Kigame a local Tutsi traveling
under false Hutu papers volunteers to be Michelle’s
guide, despite having witnessed her parents murder.
Whether due to the situation around them or chemistry
Kigami and Michelle turn to each other for comfort.
The Officer and Michelle are eventually
thrown together after an incident, at a roadblock, at the height
of the action just before the UN step in to make attempts to
defuse the situation.
Beautifully performed this clever piece
of theatre captured the small audience and took us on the journey
in front of us at times it was amusing, at times horrific but
mostly it was compulsive.
Just
to compound the fact that the play is based on historical events
which happened in our life time, Dominic closed the evening by
reading a report from a local newspaper printed this month about
the findings of the trial resulting from these atrocities.
It gave rise to one of these stop and think moments!
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