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THOUGHT CURFEW
How are entire communities rendered unthinking in a moment?
a collaboration with Empathy & Risk
Created by David Cotterrell and Ruwanthie de Chickera
aboutGY

SYNOPSIS
Thought Curfew is a lyrical play which follows the journey of a child fleeing a fast- spreading phenomenon which renders people unthinking instantly. As the child
escapes the terrifying thought curfew she encounters ‘unthinking’ communities
already subject to it.
July, 2018
Kigali Genocide Memorial Amphitheatre,
Rwanda
Running time – 30 minutes
Language - English ; Sinhala
The opening show was supported by Empathy and Risk,The Arts and Design Research Centre, Sheffield-Hallam University, UK
Rohith Peiris and the Sri Lankan community in Rwanda,The Ubumuntu Festival of Humanity
production
Production
Thought Curfew is a mixed media live performance created by David Cotterrell and
Ruwanthie de Chickera. The play brought together animators, composers and
designers from the United Kingdom and actors from Sri Lanka. It was staged at the
4 th Ubumuntu Festival of Humanity held in Kigali, Rwanda.
The script is based on a short story written by Ruwanthie which was inspired by the
idea of a ‘Thought Curfew’, a concept coined initially by Sri Lankan student
playwright Tara Nadun.

Reviews
‘Haunting, and thought provoking’
Ubumuntu Festival of Humanity
More Reviews
Reviews
reflections

Looking Back
Artists involved in creating this play reflect on the creative process; explaining how the idea came about, how it grew, changed and what finally made it to the production.
Read the Resource Pack and watch the Stages Looking Back Video to gain insight into the process behind creating this play.
devising