Conducting research in a context of violence was such a powerful experience that in addition to writing up my results, I wanted to explore in a more creative way questions such as the security of respondents and researchers and the impact of censorship on research. Thus I decided to write a reader's theatre piece, to give voice to the actors in my personal research drama. My intention was to include the entire play as a chapter in this book, but when checking with local sources, I was warned against doing so as it would put those in the country at risk. So below I offer an abbreviated and redacted version of this play.

Excerpt from reader's theatre play: ‘Talking drums’

Readers

Researcher: A young Western woman coming for the first time to conduct research in a context of violence. She is smart, enthusiastic, and naive.

Narrator: Middle-aged man from this country; he has the solid feel and voice that comes from years of experience handling difficult situations.

Artist: An attractive young woman from this country, with passionate fiery eyes, wanting to speak out, but still nervous.

Scene 1: Arrival

[Sounds of a balafone begin off-stage. Three readers enter together, the researcher holding a clipboard, the narrator, purposeful, and the artist swaying to the music. The music fades as they sit on chairs]

Narrator: Even after being in four times over 10 years, she hadn't quite grasped how threatened the government was by artists. She didn't realise that her research would be seen as subversive, simply because she was interested in the impact of the arts. But before she could actually confirm would be one of her research sites, she had to go there on faith and hope that she could pull something erudite out of the hat.