"We Cry On the Inside": Image Theatre and Rwanda's Culture of Silence

Image theatre emerges as a promising method to break Rwanda's persistent culture of silence surrounding the 1994 genocide, revealing 'unexpected truths' about personal experiences that conventional dialogue approaches have failed to uncover. The study, conducted through workshops in 2007 and 2008, adapted Augusto Boal's participatory theatre techniques to address site-specific challenges in Rwanda. Findings suggest that this approach can foster personal exchanges about the genocide, offering potential for addressing trauma and ethnic tensions. The research highlights the need for community-based dialogue methods that resonate with Rwandan survivors, as traditional therapeutic or NGO-led initiatives have struggled to engage participants effectively.

Blair, B., & Fletcher, A. (2010). “We Cry On the Inside”: Image Theatre and Rwanda’s Culture of Silence. Theatre Topics, 20(1), 23–31. https://doi.org/10.1353/tt.0.0090