Tuesday, April 10, 2007

...Young Lady from Rwanda

From: "will stackman" profwlll@yahoo.com

Subject: Quicktake - "...Young Lady from Rwanda" by Sonja Linden

Date: Sun, Apr 8, 4:05 PM

Quicktake on ...Young Lady from Rwanda

     The full title of Sonja Linden’s compelling documentary play, "I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given to Me By a Young Lady From Rwanda " is far too long to fit on a marque, but does capture the special essence of her piece. For while the subject of the story, Juliette, is a survivor of the genocide, what’s staged is her recovery from the ordeal by writing about her life as a middle-class Rwandan, played by Dorcas Evelene Davis from New York. This process is facilitated by Simon. a British poet working with clients at a refugee center, played by the ever-dependable Owen Doyle. His life as a minor poet and frustrated novelist serves as a foil for her larger tragedy.

     Director Weylin Symes presents the play with notable economy on a simple but strong black and white set by Richard Chambers. Stoneham has resisted adding multi-media details, using sound by David Wilson to enhance some key scenes. The play is easy to watch if not to listen to as we are reminded of the horrific violence wrecked on the Tutsi by their Hutu neighbors. But it’s a lesson not to be forgotten even as the world watches the barbarity currently savaging Darfur on the opposite side of Africa. The small hope this play offers for salvation somehow seems too little. Linden approach to the subject, using only two actors whose personal stories are revealed in a series of monologues and simple scenes is a unique way to deal with such a subject, however. This show is well worth the short trip out to Stoneham.



"...Young Lady from Rwanda" by Sonja Linden, April 5 - 22

Stoneham Theatre

395 Main Street Stoneham, (781) 279-2200
Stoneham Theatre

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