By the Rivers of Babylon (full reading)

by Peter Sutton

In 1915, the majority of the two million Armenians living in Turkey were expelled from their homes and deported to the Syrian desert, and many of those enlisted in the Turkish army were shot. The total number who died in these actions is disputed, and is put at anything from several hundred thousand to a million and a half. The survivors never returned. The play follows these events through the story of one family in one town, and of its relations with a Turkish official who has long been their friend. As the war progresses, violence against the Armenian minority increases, until anguished questions are asked about belief in God, about the causes of hatred, about kindness, about historical truth, about friendship and duty, and about the relations between different ethnic, religious and linguistic communities. The minimum number of actors is 4 M, 3 F and a young boy (M/F)