Theatre for Survival: Art of Creation and Protection (Kubunda)

Abstract

Tutsi artists-in-exile sought to use performance as a mode of cultural survival, both to preserve Tutsi culture in the countries of refuge and to fuel a militaristic return to Rwanda, ‘the land of milk and honey’. Performance was used to survive displacement and to create a utopian vision of Rwanda, the ancestral land that many young Tutsi refugees had never lived in nor experienced. In Ananda Breed’s interview with Rwandan playwright-essayist Jean-Marie Rurangwa on 25 April 2006 in Kigali he stated: ‘I wrote poems and plays to sensitise the diaspora to go back to their homeland. I have played a big role in Rwandans coming home’. Many of these artists took refuge in neighbouring countries including Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at various historical points when Tutsi were hunted down to be killed, including 1959, 1973 and the genocide against Tutsi in 1994.²

The authors used a mixed research approach including interviews with playwrights, observations of rehearsals and performances, and participation in workshops with the artists and productions noted in this chapter. Alice Mukaka performed as a company member of Kalisa Rugano’s production Rugari Rwa Gasabo. Additionally, Alice Mukaka served as a company member of the original production Iryo Nabonye and was supervised by Jean-Marie Kayishema during her MA degree at the National University of Rwanda, Butare.