by J.T. Rogers
September 17 - October 12, 2008
A naive and desperate American professor brings his family to Rwanda just as the country careens toward an unspeakable horror. From the author of White People, Seeing the Elephant, and Madagascar.
This electrifying thriller is a spell-binding exploration of one of the great human tragedies of our time. Set in Rwanda in 1994, The Overwhelming tells the chilling tale of an American professor who unwittingly takes his family on a trip to Rwanda in the weeks leading up to the genocide. Intended as a reunion with an old college friend, the visit spirals quickly into chaos, duplicity, and tragedy as Rwanda descends into the maelstrom of a bloody civil war.
Dramatic storytelling at its very best, this provocative socio-political thriller is sure to inspire conversation, especially in an election year. Developed at Salt Lake Acting Company in 2005, The Overwhelming premiered at the National Theatre in London in May 2006. The first American production played in the fall of 2007 at the Roundabout, an off-Broadway venue in New York City.
"...a play that makes thinking a pleasure again... enjoyably suspenseful drama while provoking serious thought about American involvement in the internal affairs of foreign nations in a way that's both unsettling and cathartic." - Variety
View a sample YouTube video of the September 21 Matinee Post Play Discussion with Playwright J.T. Rogers and SLAC Dramaturg Mike Dorrell by clicking here.
View the full Post Play Discussion by clicking here.
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