Seven Plays of Koffi Kwahulé: In and Out of Africa (African Perspectives)

The work of renowned Ivoirian playwright Koffi Kwahulé has been translated into some 15 languages and is performed regularly throughout Europe, Africa, and the Americas. For the first time, Seven Plays of Koffi Kwahulé: In and Out of Africa makes available to an Anglophone audience some of the best and most representative plays by one of Francophone Africa’s most accomplished living playwrights.  Kwahulé’s theater delves into both the horror of civil war in Africa and the diasporic experience of peoples of African origin living in Europe and the “New World.” From the split consciousness of the protagonist and rape victim in Jaz to the careless buffoonery of mercenaries in Brewery, Kwahulé’s characters speak in riffs and refrains that resonate with the improvisational pulse of jazz music. He confronts us with a violent world that represents the damage done to Africa and asks us, through exaggeration and surreal touches, to examine the reality of an ever-expanding network of global migrants. His plays speak to the contemporary state of humanity, suffering from exile, poverty, capitalist greed, collusion, and fear of “the other”—however that “other” gets defined.  Judith G. Miller’s introductory essay situates Kwahulé among his postcolonial contemporaries. Short introductory essays to each play, accompanied by production photos, contextualize possible approaches to Kwahulé’s often enigmatic work. Anglophone theater scholars and theater professionals eager to engage with contemporary theater beyond their borders, particularly in terms of what so-called minority theater artists from other countries are creating, will welcome this indispensable collection. Students and scholars of African studies and of global French studies will also find this work intriguing and challenging.

Literature & Fiction

Kwahulé, Koffi

Miller, Judith G.

Dramas & Plays

University of Michigan Press

The work of renowned Ivoirian playwright Koffi Kwahulé has been translated into some 15 languages and is performed regularly throughout Europe, Africa, and the Americas. For the first time, Seven Plays of Koffi Kwahulé: In and Out of Africa makes available to an Anglophone audience some of the best and most representative plays by one of Francophone Africa’s most accomplished living playwrights. Kwahulé’s theater delves into both the horror of civil war in Africa and the diasporic experience of peoples of African origin living in Europe and the “New World.” From the split consciousness of the protagonist and rape victim in Jaz to the careless buffoonery of mercenaries in Brewery, Kwahulé’s characters speak in riffs and refrains that resonate with the improvisational pulse of jazz music. He confronts us with a violent world that represents the damage done to Africa and asks us, through exaggeration and surreal touches, to examine the reality of an ever-expanding network of global migrants. His plays speak to the contemporary state of humanity, suffering from exile, poverty, capitalist greed, collusion, and fear of “the other”—however that “other” gets defined. Judith G. Miller’s introductory essay situates Kwahulé among his postcolonial contemporaries. Short introductory essays to each play, accompanied by production photos, contextualize possible approaches to Kwahulé’s often enigmatic work. Anglophone theater scholars and theater professionals eager to engage with contemporary theater beyond their borders, particularly in terms of what so-called minority theater artists from other countries are creating, will welcome this indispensable collection. Students and scholars of African studies and of global French studies will also find this work intriguing and challenging.  

New French-Language Plays

Miller, Richard

BOUCHARD, MICHEL MARC

Kourilsky, Françoise

Mac Dougall, Jill

Gaboriau, Linda

Edmond, Paul

Cesaire, Michile

UBU Repertory Theater

<p>A treize ans, Bintou affiche une haine farouche pour toute forme d'autorité. Fille d'une banlieue violente et métissée, elle rêve d'une carrière de danseuse du ventre et dirige les Lycaons, une bande de garçons prêts à tout pour lui plaire. En l'absence du père, qui se terre dans sa chambre depuis qu'il a perdu son emploi, c'est l'oncle qui voudrait imposer sa loi à  Bintou... et peut-être même davantage. Mais celle-ci n'est pas prête à se soumettre, malgré l'amour qu'elle porte à sa mère. Comment dès lors la ramener à la raison ? Comment imposer à cette sans culotte aux jupes trop courtes et aux cuisses veloutées de rentrer dans le rang de la famille et de la bienséance ? Comment... sinon en faisant appel au couteau ancestral qui meurtrit les chairs et enchaîne les âmes?</p>

BINTOU

LANSMAN

Le masque boiteux: HISTOIRES DE SOLDATS

THEATRALES

<p>Quelque part en Afrique, un groupe de femmes, Les Recluses, dcide de se parler, premire tape pour briser ensuite un silence impos. Car elles ont en commun la blessure du viol de guerre. Par cette violence, tout s'est renvers : un voisin ou un juge sont devenus complices ou bourreaux ; certaines cachent ce qu'elles vivent comme une souillure un futur mari ; d'autres travestissent la ralit pour contenir la folie d'un poux. Pourtant, c'est bien l'amour qui ouvre cette histoire. Et c'est encore un hymen clbr dans l'euphorie qui la clt. Non que Koffi Kwahul minimise la ralit qu'il montre l'aide de tmoignages. Mais il dgage ces situations dramatiques de tout pathos, s'autorise mme l'humour. Il propose une pice flamboyante, l'criture caressant une oralit indomptable, l'image de ces femmes. Un texte dont on ne ressort pas indemne.</p>

Les recluses

L'odeur des arbres et autres pièces: UN DOUX MURMURE DE SILENCE / LE JOUR OU TI'ZAC ENJAMBA LA PEUR

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