a human being died that night

Both Christopher Harris as de Kock and Jacqueline Thompson as Gobodo-Madikizela are compelling in their portrayals. Harris introduces de Kock as surprisingly a bit suave and courteous, but he can also throw off an audience as de Kock dispassionately recalls his role in sundry government atrocities.

He’s also adept, moreover, at gradually revealing not only de Kock’s submerged personal feelings and willingness to accept responsibility for what he did but not for what he himself did not. In other words, de Kock is interested in telling history who else in his chain of command was culpable.

Thompson depicts Gobodo-Madikizela as a polished professional completely confident in what she does and in her abilities as well as the importance of the TRC work in helping to move South Africa forward. She captures the psychologist’s softening of her own heart toward the criminal she is interrogating as he reveals his own complexities. The play’s title is taken from a crucial scene when de Kock reveals the thoughts that plagued his conscience after his assassination of a political opponent to the government.

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