Living

de Colleen Wagner

"The Living, a documentary play, inspired by the actual stories of women and girls who survived trauma in post-conflict zones, examines the lives of victims and perpetrators, post-genocide, who live side-by-side in government-issued housing, and NGO-funded campaigns to encourage reconciliation in hopes that the impossible act of forgiveness can end the cycle of revenge. Jacqui and Henry have known each other since primary school. Henry rescued Jacqui during the genocide but was part of the mob that killed her father and brother. Their relationship challenges the vengeful hearts of the community. Henry and Jacqui struggle to move on by reimagining idyllic memories of their childhood despite the war's aftermath: AIDS, perpetrators returning from prison facing their own guilty consciences, husbands and wives who barely recognize each other, ghosts of the dead, revenge festering in hearts and minds, imposed notions of reconciliation, and a crisis of faith. And in the middle: impossible love, and a radical approach to reconciliation - transformational justice."--