Adong Judith Uganda

Adong Judith (Gulu, Uganda, 1977) is a playwright, film and theatre-maker whose work raises public debate on contentious issues to provoke positive change. Her first play, Silent Voices reveals the terrors of the 20-year conflict with the Lord’s Resistance Army and challenges the peace-building process, asking difficult questions about amnesty and forgiveness and confronting people with their passivity and complicity. She brings the stories of vulnerable and disadvantaged people to the wider public of Uganda and the world. Adong Judith’s works tackle such controversial subjects as the struggle for LGBTIQ rights in Uganda, the hypocrisy of religious and gender politics, local child sacrifice practices, social media deception and the horrors of colonialism. Adong Judith has an MFA in Filmmaking and Media Arts and has also studied music dance, languages, literature and drama. She is the artistic director of Silent Voices Uganda (2016), a non-profit organisation for the development and production of performing arts. Silent Voices Uganda is revitalising Ugandan theatre and is having an impact across the continent with its apprenticeship programme that matches aspiring theatre-makers with experienced mentors. She is the first Ugandan to receive the Prince Claus Award.

Photo: Shades Courtesy Adong Judith