Communiqué n° 10 at The Cutting Ball Theater

In a city engulfed by riots a young Muslim man is killed after a confrontation with a security guard. His brother, Hassan, vows vengeance and attempts to take control over his seemingly written destiny. Rebels, vagrants, and officers of the law all seek asylum. Their elders, who have difficulty making sense of society’s radical changes, are simultaneously dead and very much alive to bear witness to the resulting devastation. All hide in fear from unseen state forces as they contemplate the consequences of action and inaction.

Exploring the tensions of the underclass in a city that is bursting at the seams, French playwright Samuel Gallet’s Communiqué n° 10 was inspired by the 2005 Paris riots led by North African youth. Cutting Ball’s production examines the assumptions we make about immigrants, and the connections we make with Muslim identities and violence. Melrose’s translation of Communiqué n° 10 was commissioned and developed as a part of the 2012 Des Voix Festival.