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Uwamahoro for ‘solo act’ award

Friday November 01 2019
U. pic

Malaika Uwamahoro, an actress and poet. PHOTO | ANDREW I. KAZIBWE

By ANDREW I KAZIBWE

Rwandan actress and poet Malaika Uwamahoro has been nominated for the US’ 2019 Audience Development Committee Awards (AUDELCO’s Viv) under the solo performance category for her role in the play Miracle in Rwanda.

In the play, a one-woman act, Uwamahoro plays 15 characters on one set, including Immaculate, the lead character.

The play is inspired by New York Times Best-selling book Left to Tell, which narrates Immaculate Iribagiza’s situation during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis, where she hid at a neighbour’s bathroom, together with a few women for 90 days, and survived, while her entire family perished.

The play created by Leslie Lewis and Edward Vilga dramatically recounts incidents the women went through. It is about courage, resilience and overcoming obstacles through the power of faith and forgiveness.

Uwamahoro, a graduate of Fordham University, has performed under Mashariki Performance and media company, the Spoken Word platforms and public events. The play premiered at Lion Theatre at Theatre Row in Manhattan in Aprila and ran through May, receiving critical acclaim.