State of Denial
Run: October 8th - October 25th 2015, Segal Centre for Performing Arts
Playwright: Rahul Varma
Directed By: Liz Valdez
Assistant Director: Deborah Forde
Cast: Susain Bain, Michacla Di Ccsare, Victoria Barkoff, Eric Hausknost, Liana Bdewi, Saro Saroyan, Jimmy Biais, Warona Setshwaelo
Odette, a young filmmaker, travels to Turkey to investigate stories of genocide for an upcoming film. When she interviews Sahana, an elderly Muslim woman who has spent her life assisting survivors of the Armenian genocide, she learns a devastating secret that she resolves to share with the world at any cost, even if it means revealing her own shocking secret.
“This moving and unsettling play, directed by Liz Valdez, highlights the urgent need to counter denials of gendered violence, ethnic cleansing and racial rivalry.”
— CAST Concordia
“The play’s deep humanity, sincerity and factual fastidiousness almost make it critic-proof.”
— Jim Burke, Montreal Gazette
“State of Denial is powerful and timely”
— Byron Toben, Westmount Mag