On stage, Jean-Paul Uwayezu plays the role of a mass murderer during the Rwandan genocide in 1994. In real life he himself lost many family members. The Rwandan theatre group Isôko considers its production to be a positive way to address some of the trauma.

"The first time I read the script I couldn’t believe it,” says Jean-Paul Uwayezu (26) in the Rwandan capital Kigali. “It seemed impossible. I was to perform the role of a young soldier who had raped and killed 23 women during the genocide. That role is completely the opposite of my own history, as I am a survivor.” During the 1994 genocide some 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu were killed by government-sponsored militias of extremist Hutu.

Uwayezu decided to take up the challenge and became one of the lead actors in ‘The Monument’. ”Jean-Paul is a great actor,” is the judgment of Jennifer Capraru, theatre director from Canada. Capraru is the director and producer of The Monument, which has been invited to the prestigious World Stage in Toronto in April 2011.

Reducing the pain
"At one of our shows I saw a lady in the audience who was crying from beginning to end,” Uwayezu says. "That gave me the strength to continue in full gear. When emotions are being expressed, it will eventually reduce the pain.” The actor lost a brother, uncles, aunts, nieces and cousins in 1994. "In The Monument the mother of a victim tries to convince me to tell her where I buried the 23 bodies. Don’t forget that in Rwanda there are still many families who have never been able to identify the remainders of their loved ones,” says Uwayezu.

Jean-Paul’s family was first opposed to him taking on such a role. But eventually they agreed and all came to watch. ”One of my friends had a hard time when he saw me on stage wearing the prison uniform that culprits wear. For two months he refused to speak to me.” Rwanda claims the past is behind it and that the two ethnic groups have reconciled. ”I think perhaps more needs to be done before true reconciliation is achieved,” says Capraru. “And the theatre is a fitting forum in which to tell those stories, and to learn how to think about civil society in a creative way.”

Humans are monsters
In July, Isôko mounted their second production: Littoral. This dramatic comedy about a son who tries to bury the body of his deceased father back to his homeland is co-sponsored by the Dutch embassy. “Theatere can help move our country forward,” is the view of Uwayezu. “There are so many stories that still need to be told. Stories that can encourage people to think freely.”

"You cannot forgive someone without trying to put yourself in that person’s position,” says Jean-Paul Uwayezu. That is exactly what he did in The Monument. "It makes you wonder: what would I have done, had I been a perpetrator? Most human beings can be turned into monsters, depending on the circumstances. Now, I might be able to understand the killers. A little bit, at least.”