Hewa Rwanda
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| Ticket: Please book your ticket in advance online or at the box office in the Foyer. |
| Suitable for: 12 years and older |
| Which languages: English, French, German |
| Venue: Ground Floor, Hall 2 |
| Belongs to: Hide or Tell? |
“How can one grasp the full dimension of an event that wiped out more than a million people, in which the death of my brother […] is almost an anecdote, one case among a million others – a fraction whose mathematical value is close to zero?”
Thirty-one years have passed since the genocide in Rwanda, but the book Hewa Rwanda by Rwandan actor and director Dorcy Rugamba, published in 2024, stands today as one of the most authentic accounts for understanding the events. In this moving musical reading, Dorcy Rugamba describes the life of his family, which was wiped out on the morning of 7 April 1994, and his life afterwards. Hewa Rwanda is a story of rare power about family, culture and spirituality – and an antidote to the “impulses of death” that continue to dominate our times.
DIRECTOR, PERFORMANCE: Dorcy Rugamba
MUSIC: Majnun
LIGHTS: Christophe Chaupin
PRODUCTION: Lina David / La Charge du Rhinocéros
SURTITLES: Sprachspiel, translated by Kate McNaughton (English) and Yvonne Griesel (German)
Participants
Dorcy Rugamba is a writer, actor, dancer and director. He lives and works in Brussels and Kigali. In 2012, he founded the Rwanda Arts Initiative in Kigali, an arts centre aimed at cultural entrepreneurs. On 13 March 2024, he published his book “Hewa Rwanda une lettre aux absents” (Hewa Rwanda, a letter to the absent), a story about his family
Majnun is a Senegalese musician, multi-instrumentalist and performer. His stage name – “the madman” – represents the creative freedom with which he explores the depths of his soul. Growing up in an artistic environment, he developed a nomadic, cross-genre style combining Afrobeat, jazz, funk, trance and Latin.
He released his first album in 2015. In 2019, a West African tour with his band The Black-Magic Sofas Sofas took him to Benin, Mali and Senegal, where he also recorded his decolonial album Mandigo’s Fight. With the play Liberté j’aurai habité ton rêve jusqu’au dernier soir, Majnun took to the stage of the Festival d’Avignon for the first time in 2021 and subsequently toured internationally. Further roles followed, including in La vie comme elle vient.