“Rage Against Violence” captures the impact of family violence through the eyes of those who have lived it. From survivors to frontline support workers, the script was created entirely verbatim from interviews with them.

It traces relationships from genesis, to breakdown, to escape, as we hear how many women and their children repair their lives through the support of community services such as women’s shelters, special police units, and family and children’s services.

But not everyone is able to access this support before tragedy strikes. The final act centres on the death of Denise Bourdeau at the hands of her boyfriend and the subsequent murder trial.

We hear how it felt for her nephew, Zaq Laroque, to sit through days of testimony in support of his grandmother; how the death of his aunt and the beating of his own mother have spurred him to advocacy. The journalist who covered the trial takes us inside the court proceedings. But most importantly, we hear the actual words of Denise pleading with her boyfriend to stop his violence in an unsent-letter discovered by her mother after her death.

The play closes with audience members standing and saying the names of local women who have died at the hands of their intimate partners over the past 10 years.

The play was commissioned by Women's Crisis Services Waterloo.