"No one remembers why it started-
What the first stone was for-
And so no one can think of a reason to stop."
Can something torn apart by war be put together again? From the award-winning author of Gas Girls and Sound of the Beast, Donna-Michelle St. Bernard's The First Stone is an epic-yet-intimate exploration of the harrowing path from violence to forgiveness. In an unnamed village in a country modelled after Uganda, two children are captured by an army and forced to commit unimaginable atrocities while their family longs for their return. Through poetry and song, this insightful drama sheds light on the exploitation of child abductees, the communities from which they are stolen, the determination to bring them home, and the hard road to reconciliation that follows.
Expansive in its scope, The First Stone is a profound parable that traces ancestral cycles of violence and the imperatives of transformative justice with staggering clarity. This merciful call for humanity follows one family's struggle to reunite, measuring the cost of holding on and the grace of letting go.
• This play is part of a series that Donna-Michelle St. Bernard is writing called the 54ology, where the playwright and her collaborators look at each country in Africa through a different piece of performance work. Through artistic responses to current and historical events, the project seeks to acknowledge the internal and external pressures of politics, economics, international trade, cultural and spiritual divergence, colonial consequence, natural resources, language, etc., in the life of a complex and variegated continent.
• The play is inspired by the experience of Acholi people in Uganda's civil conflict. It's a not-altogether-oblique reference to events surrounding the crimes of Joseph Kony and the Lords Resistance Army, derived from extensive research and interviews.
• When talking about the play, the term "child abductees" is intentionally used instead of the more common "child soldiers" to relocate culpability.
• The First Stone was produced by the Great Canadian Theatre Company and Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto from October 6–23, 2022.
Can something torn apart by war be put together again? The First Stone is an epic-yet-intimate parable that explores the transformation of ancestral cycles of violence into healing and forgiveness. In a small village, two children are captured by an army and forced to commit unspeakable atrocities while their family longs for their return. Modelled after the civil conflicts in Uganda, this insightful drama follows the arduous plight of child abductees, the communities from which they are stolen, the determination to bring them home, and the hard road to reconciliation that follows.
"The First Stone is a triumph . . . Yes, there is pain, yes, there is generational trauma-but there is also laughter. There's hope . . . The First Stone traces the genesis of child warfare in Uganda-the abductions, the killings, the unhappy homecomings-but ultimately persists forward with a beating heart of grace."
"In a subtle though deeply evocative theatrical flourish, the traumatic disruption of this community is given tactile form . . . The First Stone acknowledges our dark potential and honours our resilience."
"It was quite moving to go to the theatre and find an argument for forgiving even the most unforgivable."
