This year marks 25 years since the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994. Generation 25 or G25, an upcoming theatre production by the Mashirika Performing Arts And Media Company seeks to commemorate 25 years since the end of the genocide, with a special spotlight on the young generation of Rwandans born right after the genocide.

The production will be performed in two phases in Rwanda, after which it will be staged in New York.

Aspiring dancers register for the G25 production. Courtesy photo. 

For the first phase of the production, Mashirika will collaborate with artists from the UK and Argentina, and their joint piece will be performed on April 12, at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Amphitheater, to coincide with the start of the official genocide commemoration period. The second phase of the production will see further collaboration between Rwandan artists and those from the U.S, and the performance will be staged at this year’s edition of the Ubumuntu Arts Festival in July, at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Amphitheater. The production will then be staged in New York, in the US.

Local auditions for the G25 production took place from February 5 – 6 at Mashirika offices in Kimironko.

A record 130 young people turned up for the auditions, from which 30 were selected for a three day casting residency from which the top 15 will be selected for six weeks of intensive rehearsals that will lead up to the first performance on April 12.

"2019 is exactly 25 years since the Rwanda Genocide against the Tutsi. A new generation with a shared history but under different circumstances will be born. This year will see a cohort of children born out of rape, children of victims, children whose parents were perpetrators, and children born in exile, a generation who must live together and forge a common future,” explained Hope Azeda, the founder and artistic director of Mashirika.

"The theatrical performance will be a collective of young voices questioning the past as they take on the responsibility of being guardians of a dark history they were never part of. The big question at hand would be; ‘why did one million people die in 100 days, in a country they love, with beautiful people and a beautiful culture’?”

Azeda described G25 as "an open script of global concerns”, as the issues it seeks to address are not unique to only Rwanda, but rather a rallying call to global young voices to be authors of their own destiny.

About the artistic collaborations with foreign artists and theater performance troupes, Azeda explained that ultimately, the goal is long term professionalisation of artists involved:

"The experience of collaborating is a unique way to combine styles and perspectives in order to create work which might not exist without a cross-cultural scope. Working in new groups that are vastly diverse is a strong asset to the arts; not only is it a kick starter for fresh ideas, but also an opportunity to expand minds. In 1939, six million lives were lost in the holocaust, the world stood and said ‘Never Again”. 50 years later the world saw the same ideology of genocide claim one million innocent lives in 100 days in Rwanda.”

editorial@newtimes.co.rw