On the anniversary of the massacre of her family in Rwanda, Juliette, a young woman who has found refuge in London, lights candles to their memories and recalls the qualities that made each of them unique: one candle for her gentle father, another for her cynical mother, on through many siblings, down to her adored 3-year-old sister. As played by the gifted Susan Heyward, the scene is unbearably sad and eloquent, yet so modestly presented and genuine that it never strains to reach the audience’s tear ducts. Juliette’s distinct voice is the essence of “I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given to Me by a Young Lady From Rwanda,” and Ms. Heyward’s vibrant performance is the best reason to see it. Sonja Linden’s two-character play, based on her experience as a writer in residence at a London refugee center, was performed in Britain in 2002 and in British and American cities since, before the Phoenix Theater Ensemble presented its New York premiere on Saturday. A work with such a strong social conscience often has little to do with art, as if the message and the drama were traveling on parallel tracks. Despite infusions of wit — the title is not some dreary promise of what’s to come, but Juliette’s expression of her inflated hopes about what her writing teacher, Simon, will say — this isn’t much of a play. Simon is a twit (effectively played as one by Joseph Menino, sounding like Derek Jacobi) so self-absorbed that when Juliette mentions 1994 he doesn’t recognize it as the year of the Rwandan genocide; it’s easy to guess that he soon will. Both characters explain themselves to the audience clumsily, and Ms. Linden’s attempts to deal with the cultural divide as well as with Juliette’s horrifying memories never coalesce. But Juliette herself is a vivid, believable personality, full of common sense as she struggles to make sense of the English (“Why they call him a poet?” she asks when Simon takes her to a reading. “All he does is shouting.”), and burdened with fears as she grapples with her memories. This affecting production, directed by Elise Stone on a minimalist set, can’t mask the play’s flaws, but it beautifully captures those moments when Juliette’s voice allows the work to jump the track from didacticism to art. “I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given to Me by a Young Lady From Rwanda” continues through May 4 at the Theater at St. Peter’s, 619 Lexington Avenue, at 54th Street; (212) 352-3101.
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