Search
Close this search box.

Récréâtrales 2016, artists from the Great Lakes region

Artists from the Great Lakes region were present at Récréâtrales. They tell us about their participation in the Pan-African theatre festival in Ouagadougou.

Les Récréâtrales 2016 welcomed artists from Africa and around the world via the Elan programme. Among them were author David Ilunga from the DRC, director Freddy Sabimbona from Burundi and actress Martine Umulisa from Rwanda. They all see their visit to Ouagadougou as an opportunity for exchange and mutual enrichment.

Freddy Sabimbona explains: "It's an incredible opportunity to work with people from Benin, Togo, Congo and Burkina Faso. And that creates bridges between our countries and an openness towards the cultural players in West Africa that we didn't have before. It's an opportunity to meet lots of people and forge partnerships".

To find out more about these three ambassadors of Great Lakes theatre and all the benefits they derive from their presence at Les Récréâtrales, read Saïdou Alcény BARRY's article below or download it in pdf format at click here.


Récréâtrales 2016, artists from the Great Lakes region

Artists from the Great Lakes were present at the Récréâtrales. They tell us about their participation in the Pan-African Theatre Festival in Ouagadougou.

The Récréâtrales 2016, held in Ouagadougou from 29 November to 5 October 2016, welcomed artists from Africa and around the world. Africalia, a partner of Cartelthe initiative behind this cultural event, orchestrated a meeting between actors from the Great Lakes region and the rest of the world in Ouagadougou. Playwright David Ilunga from the Democratic Republic of Congo, director Freddy Sabimbona from Burundi and actress Martine Umulisa from Rwanda were all present at this major theatrical event.

David Ilunga, a young playwright, is taking part in the Elan des Récréâtrales programme for the second time. This year, he has come to present his play Load shedding which recounts the trials and tribulations of a Congolese illegal immigrant in Brussels after the terrorist attacks. The play was read in the Koné courtyard to a multicultural audience who laughed at the comical situations and the character's vitriolic portrayal of Congolese and Belgians. David is also an actor in Nice little dogwritten by Hakim Bah and directed by Aristide Tarnagda. He plays the father of the young Ortie alongside Martine Umulisa, who plays the mother.

The Congolese playwright is a member of the Tarmac des Auteursa cultural structure based in Kinsasha that aims to promote playwriting. He sees his visit to Ouagadougou as an opportunity for exchange and mutual enrichment. " I take part in Récréâtrales Elan, which is a drama research laboratory that brings together actors, directors, set designers and performers to create a show. It's a creative laboratory that enriches each member because it brings together experienced practitioners and beginners". This laboratory is important to him because it allows him to question his artistic approach, to reflect on his practice as an actor and above all as an author. "I discovered landscape theatre, which consists of performing a play in situ, in the environment in which it is to be performed, without bringing in any set design elements. What's more, as Tarmac des Auteurs is located in a working-class district of Kinsasha, we also have a grassroots and social base. We can therefore draw on the Récréâtrales idea of staging theatre in people's homes, while adapting it to the social realities of Kin, which is a monster of a city."

Freddy Sabimbona has been in Ouaga for two months directing the play Les Sanswritten by Alidou K. Ouédraogo. " It's an incredible opportunity to work with people from Benin, Togo, Congo and Burkina Faso, and we draw on all these experiences. And that creates bridges between our countries and an openness towards the cultural players in West Africa that we didn't have before. It's an opportunity to meet lots of people and forge partnerships. "

The Burundian director, who is organising the festival Buja Without Taboo now in its second year, is very interested in the experience of theatre in the classroom as a way of breaking the circle of elitist theatre and making it accessible to the working classes. " In Burundi, theatre is performed in theatres, and it would be good to get it out of there and into the community. "says Freddy.

He is very proud that Ajax Nzeyimana, Burundi's first set designer, is taking part in Les Récréâtrales to enhance his skills through contact with other set designers and to be able to share the experience he has gained here with future set designers in Burundi.

As for Martine Umulisa, an actress and co-founder of Kaami Arts, a structure that introduces children to theatre, she brought Kinyarwandan songs to the Nice little dog. In this way, she has unknowingly transposed a song from Rwanda to Ouaga, because in the courtyard where the play is being performed, the children have learnt the songs and are singing them as they sketch out traditional Rwandan dance steps.

She is grateful to Les Récréâtrales for giving her a new lease of life as an actress. She hadn't been on stage for a few years, busy with the administration of Kaami Arts, training young actors and directing shows for young people.

These three ambassadors of theatre from the Great Lakes region are quick to tell us all the benefits they derive from their presence at Les Récréâtrales, but they forget to mention what they bring to this great "rendez-vous of giving and receiving". Through their creations, they bring the humour and petulance of the Congo, the Ubuntu of Rwanda and the spirit of resilience of the people of Burundi.

In short, these artists from the Great Lakes region bring particular cultural values and colours to the table, and their presence helps to make Récréâtrales an artistic rainbow. The beauty of a carpet comes from the variety of its colours," said the Malian writer Amadou Hampathé Bâ. This truth about weaving also applies to human and artistic encounters such as Récréâtrales.
Saïdou Alcény BARRY

Seventh Theme and Patchwork

Recent Articles

subscribe to our

Newsletter