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by Neil McPherson
Directed by Kate Wasserberg
Designed by Kelly Vassie
Lighting by Alex Watson
Costume Design by Nell Knudsen
Presented by Concordance
Cast: Rob Carroll. Mac Gregory. David Kershaw. Kristin Milward. Michael Nersisyan. Rachel Payant . Peter Sutton. Stephanie Thomas.

6, 13, and 20 November 2005

The multi-award-winning Finborough Theatre presents a documentary drama featuring poetry, images, music, verbatim theatre and the UK premiere of Aram Kouyoumdjian’s award-winning monologue, Protest, commemorating the 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide and the 1.5 million who died under Ottoman rule.

The Armenian genocide was the first genocide of the 20th century, perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkish government against the Armenians, a Christian minority in a Muslim state.

For more than a quarter of a century, the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire under the leadership of Sultan Abdul Hamid II and later under the rule of the Young Turk regime suffered unspeakable abuse, torture, massacres and persecution. This resulted in the rape, murder and deportation of more than 1.5 million Armenians from their historic homeland, and the destruction of a 3000 year old culture.

The Turkish government denies to this date that such atrocities and mass murders took place and refuses to admit responsibility.

“What a cursed, what a blood-soaked country;
Within which even the core of the sun appears bleak
And bloody, like a dagger stabbed eye”
- Siamanto

Playwright Aram Kouyoumdjian is the winner of Elly Awards for both playwriting (The Farewells) and directing (Three Hotels). His most recent work, The Delicate Lines in a doublebill with Protest premiered this April at California Stage in Sacramento, as part of a three-city tour that culminated in Los Angeles. He is an associate member of the Dramatists Guild and a recipient of a grant from the Arpa Foundation for his achievements in theatre.

"If nations are allowed to commit genocide with impunity, to hide their guilt in a camouflage of lies and denials, there is a real danger that other brutal regimes will be encouraged to attempt genocides. Unless we speak today of the Armenian genocide and unless the Government recognises this historical fact, we shall leave this century of unprecedented genocides with this blot on our consciences."
Caroline, Baroness Cox, House of Lords, April 1999

"The Turkish denial [of the Armenian Genocide] is probably the foremost example of historical perversion. With a mix of academic sophistication and diplomatic thuggery…the Turks have put both memory and history into reverse gear." - Professor Colin Tatz, Director, Centre for Comparative Genocide Studies

"Who, after all, today remembers the annihilation of the Armenians?"
Adolf Hitler, 1939

A reading of the play was also given at the Centre for Armenian Information & Advice (CAIA), Mill Hill Road, London, on 9 September 2006. The play was directed by Kate Wasserberg with the following cast:
Tamara Hinchco. David Kershaw. Jack Klaff. Alex McConnell. Denise McCormack. Michael Nersisyan. Sevan Stephan. Stephanie Thomas.