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The Living is a documentary play inspired by the actual stories of women and girls who survived trauma in post-conflict zones. It examines the lives of victims and perpetrators, post-genocide, who live side-by-side in government-issued housing, as well as the role of NGO-funded campaigns.
About the author
Colleen Wagner was born in Alberta and studied at the Ontario College of Art and the University of Toronto. Her first play,
Sand, was on the final shortlist for best international play at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, England, in 1989. She won the 1996 Governor General's Literary Award for Drama for
The Monument, which continues to be produced internationally and is translated into half a dozen languages. She teaches at York University and divides her time between a farm in New Brunswick and Toronto.
Summary
The Living is a powerful and unsettling documentary play by Colleen Wagner, author of the Governor General's Literary Award–winning play The Monument. It is inspired by the actual stories of women and girls who survived trauma in post-conflict zones like Rwanda and Uganda. The Living examines the lives of victims and perpetrators, post-genocide, who live side-by-side in government-issued housing, as well as the role of NGO-funded campaigns. By means of theatrical fiction, documentary work, and re-enactment, The Living provides a creative path toward reconciliation, in hopes that the impossible act of forgiveness can end the cycle of revenge.
