The Beslan siege, on September 1, 2004, was one of those world-changing episodes that most people still remember.
Even now, 14 years later, many recall staring at news screens as events unfolded – children and their families were held hostage by terrorists, some were eventually allowed out after three days in captivity, then soldiers stormed in and a bomb went off… ultimately killing hundreds of people.
Today, a new play – Us/Them by Carly Wijs – opens in Valletta to recall the tragedy which happened in North Ossetia (an autonomous republic of the Russian Federation).
Fourteen years on, the production look at how the tragedy unfolded through the eyes of two young children.
“I was left reeling by this play when I first saw it at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2016,” Chiara Hyzler, the show’s director, said.
A woman cleans the gravestone of a boy who died in the school siege. Photo: Reuters“I am certainly not surprised that the play went on to win top awards, and that it has toured internationally to great acclaim ever since. I couldn’t get it out of my mind and knew that we should bring it to Malta. We live in a world of terrorism and the reality of that is hard to digest. Theatre like this gives audiences an alternative viewpoint on horrors such as the one in Beslan… it’s not easy to watch but it is important.”
Us/Them, which is being staged at The Splendid on Strait Street, in Valletta, is a very physical piece starring actors Maria Buckle and Jacob Piccinino.
It is being produced by The Shrinking Violets, a collective made up of Ms Hyzler, Ms Buckle, Denise Mulholland, Cathy Lawlor and Jo Caruana that strives to bring thought-provoking pieces to the Maltese stage.
Their debut show Ernest and the Pale Moon sold out at the Palazzo de la Salle theatre in October 2017, and this new piece promises to do the same with limited seats across its two-weekend run.
“I believe theatre has a job to do,” Ms Hyzler notes.
“To make people think, to open their eyes and, of course, to entertain them. This piece manages to do all that – audiences will share a laugh with these characters, and probably also shed a tear.
“This show is an experience. We look forward to sharing it.”
In 2004, 1,100 people, including 777 children, had been taken hostage in a political move that aimed to get Russia to withdraw from Chechnya and recognise the country’s independence.
Lasting three days, the Beslan school siege claimed the lives of 334 people, including 186 children.
The story reverberated across the world as shock and disbelief were followed by anger. The scale of the tragedy was almost too big and painful to comprehend: why would children be the target?
It was with that mindset that, in 2014, Mr Wijs, a writer from Belgium, came up with Us/Them, a play that aimed to talk about a subject that is supposed to be impossible for children to understand, but which is often hard for adults to discuss.
Us/Them opens tonight at The Splendid. It will run today and October 11, tomorrow and October 12, and October 7 and 14 at 8pm, as well as on October 13 at 7pm and 9pm. One may obtain more details by visiting www.showshappening.com.
The burned gymnasium where most of the children perished has been transformed into a shrine to those that were killed.
Us/Them star actors Maria Buckle and Jacob Piccinino. Photos: Chris Sant Fournier