Son of a French father and a Rwandan mother exiled in Burundi, ten-year-old Gaby, witnesses not only his parents’ separation, but the events that would lead to the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Adapted from the novel Small Country by Gaël Faye, this work uses words and music to tell the story of how women and men who once lived in harmony became mortal enemies. Performed in three languages by mostly Rwandan actors, the piece alludes to rather than depicts the violence, and revives the memory of this tragedy with devastating tact and sensitivity. Like a song of love and hope for the future of a country which, thirty years on, now rebuilt and at peace, has shown its incredible capacity for resilience.

Hugues Le Tanneur