The Book of Life

In 2019, a group of Rwandan and Canadian artists came together in Kigali to develop a show about recovery from trauma. Combining original music from Ingoma Nshya—Rwanda’s first ever women’s drumming group—an extraordinary collection of letters written by ordinary Rwandans, the wisdom of Kiki Katese, and a story about talking animals, the profound result is called The Book of Life.

As Kiki Katese explains: “We still have the possibility of undoing the genocide in some small way, to bridge the hole that’s been left, not with bones or the clothes they wore when they died, but with their lives. The dinners. The lovers. The dates. The joy. How do we undo the un-undoable? We let them live again.”

At a time when our world is racked with tragedy, hatred and struggle, The Book of Life offers real, tangible hope, unlocking life after trauma, and finding a humane way forward. Join us this fall for this remarkable show with its sights set on a more just and peaceful future.