A play about the DRC

Happily, no one reads this anymore so it doesn't really matter what I write, right?

I went to see this play tonight: Ruined by Lynn Nottage. It's set in the DRC in a brothel amid the civil war, the rebel forces, violence, rape, violation of the women and the land, and a whole lot of precious dashed dreams.

Naturally it made me think of this project and this group of people. Are you guys still as invested in the DRC as I am?

http://www.almeida.co.uk/production_details/production_details.aspx?code=91

The play was held together by some really strong performances, and had a really interesting, almost optimistic ending that I didn't know what to make of. I felt throughout that it couldn't possibly end any other way than in continued ruin, destruction and trauma. But it was oddly sweet and hopeful...(After the horror)

It made me think about the inherent colonial experience any western person has when engaging with stories from Africa, and more specifically the DRC. Can I ever rise above the tragedy and accept simple beauties in the situation (of this play, or of the DRC for that matter)? Is it allowed to end on a note of romance (not to spoil the ending too much for you)? Indeed, would it be inhuman to prohibit this narrative craving that we commonly accept in stories about western characters--and everything is solved at the end because they will try to heal their wounds and move on-- ?

If we were still in the midst of that graphic novel project, I would ask the same question of our project. Though it all went by so quickly, I can't even remember how we ended it, to be honest. It's a shame you're not all around to continue the discussion.