State of Denial
Run: March 16th - April 1st 2012, McCord Museum, Montreal
Playwright: Rahul Varma
Directed By: Deborah Forde
Cast: Davide Chiazzese, Rachelle Glait, Matthew Kabwe, Helen Koya, Olivier Lamarche, Natalie Tannous
Creative Team: Noémi Poulin, Eric Mongerson, Luciana Burcheri,
When Odette, a Rwandan-borne Canadian filmmaker, travels to Turkey to investigate stories of genocide, she meets Sahana, an elderly Muslim woman who has devoted her life to assisting Armenian survivors. On her deathbed, Sahana confesses a chilling secret to Odette - a secret that changes everything Odette knew about her; a secret that Odette must promise to make public at any cost.
Photos by Daniel Gringras
“… one cannot help but notice the similarities between stories from the Armenian genocide, the filmmaker’s stories of Rwanda, and stories that we have all heard about the most famous of genocides, the Holocaust. This helps drive home the fact that genocide is a tragedy that keeps on occurring, which is why the playwright seeks to spread these stories and prevent history from repeating itself.”
— Chris Lane, The Charlesbois Post
“State of Denial provides and important teaching moment about genocide. File it under ‘highly worthwhile.’ Teesri Duniya is a theatre company like no other on the planet. You have to love it for its idealistic intentions.”
— Pat Donnelly, Montreal Gazette
“Truly one of the most sensitive of our writers, Rahul Varma nevertheless tackles the big issues and how they effect the small people tied up in them.”
— The Charlesbois Post - Montreal