A MUST SEE

NEW PLAY CAPTURES COURAGE OF WOMEN IN TIME OF WAR w/pix of Lynn Nottage

Mar. 2 (GIN) – African American playwright Lynn Nottage finds the courage and character of women living amidst war and the ever-present threat of sexual violence in her new play “Ruined,” now playing in a theatre in New York.

Based on interviews with victims of rape and mutilation from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nottage has produced a work of drama that tells of the suffering of victims but also their efforts to rebuild their lives.

"Most of (the women) were incredibly traumatized and yet they still found the strength to tell their stories,” Nottage said in an interview with The New York Times. “As painful as it was, I felt this urgency for them to recount every comment."

"At times I wanted to close my ears and stop listening. But I think they really wanted to go on record, very much in the way that Holocaust survivors feel it's incumbent on them to bear witness. They wanted the world to hear their stories.”

"Ruined" has been called "heart-wrenching," "riveting," "beautiful and hideous" by theatre critics. It features Congolese-rumba music composed by Zairean-born Dominic Kanza, with lyrics by Nottage.

Despite the ongoing violence, Nottage said she has hope for the Congolese women she met, "if other countries in the region come together to commit to the healing of Congo. If that’s able to happen, I do think there’s hope.”
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"Ruined" at Manhattan Theatre Club, New York City Center through Mar. 29 212-581-1212 use code DSF