" when after all, it was you and me [or - the genocide play ] " (2014)

"when after all, it was you and me (or - the genocide play)" is one of two full-length plays I wrote by longhand -- with an actual pen on actual paper -- during 2014 and 2015, while I dealt with the onset of carpal tunnel issues and spine damage in my lower back and upper neck. Working at a computer became impossible, and writing longhand was what saved me. I rediscovered what it was to be a writer, and broke new ground as a playwright by completing two major large-scale works that I had been thinking about for 15 years.

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I began writing this play around 1999 -- I believe after reading David Rohde's brilliant book "ENDGAME: The Betrayal and Fall of Srebrenica" -- in the form of an opening image of two waiters dressed in standard United Nations pale blue and white colors -- serving customers in a restaurant, but on unsteady roller-skates. The play was dormant for over a decade -- always wishing to return to it -- until I read "A PROBLEM FROM HELL" by Samantha Power. The usage of repetition as an engine for dramatic structure -- inspired by Ms. Power's exhaustive study of the repeated foreign policy mistakes of Western governments when trying to respond to instances of genocide in the modern era -- made me return to writing the play full-time in 2014. The bulk of the writing was done at the PLAYA residency program in Oregon and the Willapa Bay AiR program in Washington.

 

I thought the play was completed -- until I encountered the work of Guatemalan photographer, Daniel Hernandez Salazar while his work was on exhibit in Antwerpen, Belgium during October 2014. Everything changed then. A longer recounting of how I met Daniel can be read here:

https://doylekevin.tumblr.com/post/103552649216/for-sixteen-years-you-think-about-a-play-on

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The following month, while working at the Saari Residence Fellowship in Finland -- I completed ACT FOUR of the play -- which remains one of the most haunting stage pictures ever created. Writing the final scenes, to accurately channel the repetitious lines spoken by the dead child on stage, almost broke me.

 

The work speaks for itself.

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In 2017, my play "when after all, it was you and me (or - the genocide play)" was selected as one of 10 Shortlisted Finalists out of nearly 2,000 submissions for consideration of the biannual BRUNTWOOD PRIZE at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, England. Although the play then received considerable interest from leading theaters in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland -- they all declined -- likely due to the extremely large cast size and demanding staging requirements. The play is a beast. But I thought that's what we were all supposed to be striving for in theatre -- to stage the unstageable works that address urgently relevant issues. So -- like my other large-scale work from this time period -- "CONSOLIDATION" -- this play "when after all, it was you and me" remains un-produced.​

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In the years since, I have personally witnessed the aftermath of genocide in Bangladesh (2016-2018) when Rohingya refugees fled across the border from Myanmar in the hundreds of thousands -- and in Ukraine (2023-2024) as I traveled the country researching a new play and speaking with refugees and survivors from Chernihiv, Bucha, Saltivka, and Mariupol.

 

"when after all, it was you and me (or - the genocide play)" is more urgent than ever. The only way to prevent such horrors in the future is to confront the facts directly -- no matter how unpleasant, disturbing, or demanding.

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The complete play text is being made available to read for free on my website in 2025.

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Good luck.

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We need it.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​