Armenian Genocide performance receives warm welcome in US

“100 Years Later”, a performance dedicated to the Armenian Genocide centennial, was recently staged in the United States, receiving a warm welcome.

The actors, who have already returned to Armenia, on Wednesday held a press conference to share their impressions. Director of the Gabriel Sundukyan Academic Theater Tigran Gasparyan said they hadn’t expected the enthusiastic welcome they saw at the three performances staged.

Actor Armen Marutyan said he believes that the play offers new approaches and steps in the Genocide recognition campaign for the coming 100 years.

“100 Years Later” is based on real facts.  

“I don’t know what future is awaiting this performance by [writer] Perch Zeytunyan and Tigran Gasparyan, but the fact is it does really contain a serious proposal. The halls were crowded, both in Armenia and the United States. The [audience] in the United States turns out to be longing for such kind of plays. The entire hall was weeping,” he noted.

Speaking further, the stage director said he personally US-Armenians admitting that they are missing a serious art. “So many things unfortunately go from here; there is a deficit for serious performances like this. So it is important to work on the quality,” he added.

Both speakers agreed that a performance as important as that must by all means be staged in other Armenian-populated countries but regretted that neither the theatre nor the state have enough resources to afford that.