Kisaku was kidnapped and arrested back in 2015 for mounting shows that criticized the government, and he spent seven days on death row. On the final day, though, when it came his turn to be executed, the man who was to kill him recognized him from one of his performances and allowed him to escape. He came to the United States shortly after, seeking political asylum granted in 2018, and settled in Connecticut.
He wrote down the story of what happened to him and turned it into a one-man play, “Requiem for an Electric Chair,” which he has performed for several years, mostly in colleges. The show will next be mounted at the Yale Schwarzman Center in New Haven Wednesday, Sept. 14, at 7:30 p.m.
Exposing American audiences to the tragedy of what has been going for years in the Congo, and the many others suffering similar fates in other parts of the world, was a goal in writing this play. “America just gave me the opportunity to put the story on the stage. For me, it was really important to put it on stage because the story — it’s my last seven days in the Congo,” he said. “Requiem reflects a reality that people are ignoring. People hear about people being incarcerated and executed, but they ignore what’s going on inside the human being in that moment.”