Showing @ The Arches, Glasgow until Sun 16 Mar @ 19:00
Behind the horrors of the Rwandan Genocide stood a radio station that encouraged racial divisions and fought for the deaths of thousands. Milo Rau and Jens Dietrich of German theatre company International Institute of Political Murder, bring radio station Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTML) nicknamed ‘Hate Radio’, back to the air in this chilling and atmospheric performance. RTML provided commentary on the genocide in the same way we listen to sport; it reported what happened and called people to act against their moral instinct. Hutus listened to it for guidance, Tutsis listened to it for warnings of what to expect.
In this piece of verbatim theatre the audience is shown a window into the conflict and how the audio cheerleader encouraged one of the most horrendous murderous acts in living memory. Seated either side of a glass box set up as a radio station, the audience looks on as presenters coax and encourage citizens to act out against the ‘cockroaches’, their nickname for the Tutsis.
Taken from interviews, transcripts and conversations with survivors, Rau provides the audience with an objective and personal look at what can only be described as a moral catastrophe. Rau’s script is a triumph, enabling the audience to be horrified without needing to over-dramatise. He aptly realises that the monstrosities don’t need a dramatic retelling and instead simply states the facts of the shocking anecdotes, resulting in a powerful presentation.
Simplicity is the key to Rau and Dietrich’s production and the uncomplicatedness of the script is also reflected in the minimalistic set, the acting and the eerie music composed by Peter Göhler that frames the piece. The performance utilises the live nature and proximity that theatre demands, creating an atmosphere of immediacy that would be difficult to achieve through other mediums. In a conflict that turned neighbours against each other and left permanent scars in the local communities, Rau provides an important insight into the macabre events that occurred in a conflict-ridden Rwanda. This is a potent piece of political theatre that shines a light on a subject that should be on everybody’s radar.