Synopses & Reviews
A burnt-out English poet, on a creative writing residency in London, meets and becomes attached to a young woman who is trying to write a book about her experience of surviving the massacre in Rwanda. Linden wrote this play in response to her encounters with a number of young Rwandan refugees at the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, where she has been a writer in residence since 1997.
Synopsis
I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document... was inspired by the real life experiences of Rwandan refugees in the UK. The play tells the story of two people from entirely different worlds who meet at a Refugee Centre in London: Juliette is a young Rwandan asylum seeker, determined to write a book on the genocide that killed her family; Simon is a middle-aged failing novelist, whose job is to help people write. The play follows their funny and touching relationship and tackles issues that face many refugees who live in the UK today.
I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document... was a Time Out Critics' Choice and was broadcast by BBC World Service as well as touring nationally and internationally. Following a London run and National UK tour, the play received its American premiere at Kansas City Rep in March 2005 and has subsequently gone on to receive more than 30 productions across the US.
Synopsis
"Sonja Linden's new play is a remarkable achievement."--Franziska Thomas, TimeOut (London)