TIME OUT CRITICS' CHOICE
METRO CRITICS' CHOICE

I Have Before Me… charts the bitter-sweet relationship between a young Rwandan woman and a British poet as he tries to help her write out her story. Humorous, touching and at times disturbing, the play was inspired by the real life experiences of young Rwandan refugees in the UK.

Award-winning playwright Sonja Linden’s plays have been produced internationally. London productions include Call Me Judas, (Paines Plough at the Finborough Theatre), The Jewish Daughter (New End) and The Strange Passenger (Paines Plough at BAC). She won a Fringe First in Edinburgh for her play Present Continuous, and a Time Out Award for Now and At The Hour of Our Death . She has been writer-in-residence since 1997 at the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture.

Directed by Drew Ackroyd whose credits include the hugely successful British premiere of Larry Kramer’s The Destiny of Me at the Finborough Theatre (Nicholas de Jongh’s No 1 Critics Choice for 3 weeks running, Evening Standard).

"You will be fortunate to get a ticket to see this remarkable piece. This is a political play in the quietest and most affecting way, where the personal is political – and brought to life with great care." The Oxford Times

The playscript is published by Aurora Metro Press. See Playscripts for details.

The Press on I Have Before Me...
"Sonja Linden's new play is a remarkable achievement. Inspired by a real story, it takes place in the wake of one of the most horrific incidents of the twentieth century - the Rwandan genocide of 1994 and it should be appreciated it as much for its educational value, as its capacity to entertain . . . [Andrew] Hawkins is superb. . . [Doreene] Blackstock is equally impressive, sustaining her perfect mix of vulnerability and stoicism, contemplating a new life in a new country. . . Though politically astute, this is not a political play. Linden, who has herself been working as a writer-in-residence helping victims of torture since 1997, highlights the plight of the Tutsis in Rwanda in much the same way as The Diary of Anne Frank highlighted the plight of the Jews in the Second World War. The result is a candid depiction of life as a survivor told without pity. . . Drew Ackroyd directs with grace and confidence, helped by Nicholaos Zavaliraris ambitious set design . . .Humorous in parts, this is a stirring tale of human bravery in the face of adversity." Franziska Thomas, Time Out

"Let me make an unusual recommendation. You should do what I did last Friday. Buy, beg or steal a ticket to a short play, with the following unwieldy title: I Have Before Me A Remarkable Document Written by a Young Lady from Rwanda. Actually Mr Blair would do well to take Mr Putin to see this play, not only because it deals with issues of immense geopolitical importance, but also because it represents much that is best about life in Britain today. . . The play tells you something about Britain's cultural vitality and the capacity of British theatre to regenerate continuously from the grass roots upwards, despite the scandalous mismanagement of our great national companies such as the RSC. The play is performing in a tiny theatre, the Finborough, above a pub in Earls Court. It has been produced on a shoestring yet the acting was superb, the writing was truly poetic, and the theatre was packed. But I am not a theatre critic, so let me explain why I mention this play. The play is about a naive young African woman, who has found asylum in London after witnessing the murders of her prosperous middle class family in the anti Tutsi genocide in Rwanda. The play is built around a series of flashbacks, as the woman tries to write down her story, with the help of a failed novelist working in the refugee centre. The story . . .has the same power as the personal chronicles of the Nazi Holocaust from Anne Frank onwards - the power to translate the cold, abstract, statistical horrors of genocide into the horribly comprehensible realities of everyday life."
Anatole Kaletsky, The Times

"This most harrowing, powerful and yet beautiful piece of theatre . . . The production is constantly enveloping . . .. Blackstocks portrayal of Juliette is wholly engaging, believable and extremely powerful, all conveyed within the framework of this understated play. Hawkins performance is equally polished. . . This is an outstanding production, a real insight into the lives of exiles and their reasons for leaving and one which makes you wonder why the human race can be so cruel"
Rob Speight, The Stage

"Linden's writing is sardonic and sensitive, and, under Drew Ackroyd's elegant direction, Hawkins and Blackstock (polite Englishness meets African pride) turn in beautifully judged performances. Highly recommended."
John Nathan, Jewish Chronicle

"It's just unbelievable how the play brings ones experiences of the Rwandan Genocide vividly to memory. I had to keep reminding myself that it is a mere play, not to go to the front, get a microphone and shout out the 1994 genocide in Rwanda for the whole world to hear. This play gives one hope that there is a possible way to uncover our untold tragedy." Antonia Mutoro, Rwandan survivor

"Once again, the Finborough Theatre has presented a gem to those who care about theatre. I Have Before Me A Remarkable Document Given to Me by A Young Lady From Rwanda is a stunning evening of drama . . The driving force of the play is one of understanding. Rather like Brian Friel's play, Translations, though really without any similarity other than two people who do not understand each other come to an amicable arrangement, the play is a serious attempt to break down barriers and in that it succeeds. . .I defy any red-blooded person to remain dry-eyed at the final moments of the piece. . . The smooth and talented Andrew Hawkins is perfect, but to a greater extent, along with the wide-eyed acceptance of wonderment, the sincerity of Doreene Blackstock makes you want to see the play over and over."
Paul Nelson, www.indielondon.co.uk

"Frontline conviction from the edge of action; gripping and rewarding. . . this direct account from iceandfire theatre company of the warfare's nightmare consequences for one Rwandan woman. . . Linden focuses tightly on a single relationship: Juliette (Doreene Blackstock) in her Newham bedsit and Simon, a frustrated poet, failed novelist and discontented husband who's earning a crust teaching writing to asylum seekers. . . Its something of a multi ethnic, globally conscious Educating Rita. Except that Juliette comes, not just with a sense of spontaneity that can lift her tutor out of the doldrums, but with experiences he can hardly imagine. Nor, indeed, can most of the audience. When the atrocity account comes - it's held back until it's no longer voyeuristic - Doreene Blackstock handles it with the intensity of someone who has seen, and only just escaped, death. . . For in Juliette, Linden and Blackstock jointly create a life-affirming person who can learn and teach others too, someone who rivets the attention and opens the eyes." Timothy Ramsden, www.reviewsgate.com

"Playwright Sonja Linden wrote I Have Before Me after talking to Rwandan refugees, and it is the truth behind the story slowly unravelling before you in every horrific detail which makes this a deeply upsetting experience . . .Linden is not just giving us a history lesson: the plight of refugees in this country is also laid out . . . But (Andrew) Hawkins and, above all, (Doreene) Blackstock handle all this difficult material impressively, putting in quietly insistent performances where the personal and the political merge seamlessly . . .Director Drew Ackroyd wisely gives both actors space to create their characters convincingly . . .Whatever your previous knowledge of the Rwandan genocide, you will come out feeling youve learned something valuable from this play." Siobhan Murphy, Metro

"Gentle, cheeky and disturbing, but never angry. . . A profoundly affecting and moving play." Julia Hickman, Theatreworld Internet Magazine

"Drew Ackroyd's production boats beautifully judged turns by Hawkins (shabbily self-absorbed) and Blackstock (proud and vulnerable)." Ian Johns, The Times