{"id":95,"date":"2016-03-22T18:18:35","date_gmt":"2016-03-22T18:18:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/8\/?p=95"},"modified":"2023-03-01T17:12:46","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01T17:12:46","slug":"les-armes-font-la-guerre-mais-les-arts-font-la-paix-weapons-make-war-but-the-arts-make-peace-interview-with-jean-louis-sagot-duvauroux-french-philosopher-and-playwright","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/8\/les-armes-font-la-guerre-mais-les-arts-font-la-paix-weapons-make-war-but-the-arts-make-peace-interview-with-jean-louis-sagot-duvauroux-french-philosopher-and-playwright\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00ab Les armes font la guerre, mais les arts font la paix (Weapons make war, but the arts make peace) \u00bb \u2014 Interview with Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux, French Philosopher and Playwright"},"content":{"rendered":"

Randy Gener<\/strong>[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Jean-Louis
Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux, French Philosopher and Playwright \u00a9 Gilles Perrin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A philosopher, Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux writes gorgeous, trenchant essays that argue for the possibilities of human emancipation. His most important book, \u00abPour la gratuit\u00e9\u00bb (Descl\u00e9e de Brouwer, 1995), explores and analyzes the impasses of movement in social transformations during the 20th century. Later reprinted by les \u00e9ditions de l’Eclat under the title \u00abDe la gratuit\u00e9\u00bb and made freely available on the Internet, the book stresses the civilizing role of freedom. Human emancipation as a theme runs through Sagot-Duvauroux\u2019s several other books. “On ne na\u00eet pas Noir, on le devient” (roughly: \u00abOne is Not Born Black, One Becomes One,\u00bb Albin Michel, 2004) unravels the complexities of identity construction of young blacks in France. \u00abEmancipation\u00bb (La Dispute, 2004) proposes a theoretical compass to regain a positive construction of alternative political liberalism. A committed leftist, Sagot-Duvauroux is passionate, too, about forging the links between society and symbolic production, a political engagement that he puts into direct practice in his own committed theatre.<\/p>\n

As a playwright, this philosopher has personally enmeshed himself in French and Malian cultural life. Along with the Malian theatre director Alioune Ifra Ndiaye, Sagot-Duvauroux co-founded and co-directs a Malian company called BlonBa. Established in 1998 in the Malian capital of Bamako, BlonBa became the first independent producer of television programs in Mali. But it is as a vibrant theatre company that has made it a model in West Africa. Thanks to its artistic and financial independence, BlonBa has managed to open a French branch in 2007: le Th\u00e9\u00e2tre de l’Arlequin located in Morsang-sur-Orge in Essonne (near Paris), which promotes expressions of cultural diversity.<\/p>\n

\"Lassine
Lassine Coulibaly \u00ab King \u00bb, Michel Sangar\u00e9 and Diarrah Sanogo in \u201cBougouni\u00e9r\u00e9 invite \u00e0 d\u00eener,\u201d written by Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux and Alioune Ifra Ndiaye, direction by Patrick Le Mauff for Compagnie BlonBa at Les Francophonies en Limousin (Limoges, France) \u00a9 Gilles Perrin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the interview below, Sagot-Duvauroux details how BlonBa has revived and made contemporary the traditional Malian form of the kot\u00e9ba for an urban setting. A very deep and very old tradition, the kot\u00e9ba is a moment of free expression in which Malians laugh at themselves and speak what is usually unspoken. It was most especially powerful in the late 1980s, at the time of the military dictatorship. Power dared not go against what was happening on the stage, because it is truly rooted in people’s minds that kot\u00e9ba can say everything and anything.<\/p>\n

BlonBa\u2019s artistic program reflects a truly committed trans-cultural engagement. In \u00abBougouni\u00e9r\u00e9 invite \u00e0 d\u00eener<\/em>\u00bb (2005), a delicious satire created Ndiaye and Sagot-Duvauroux, spectators were seated in ordinary chairs and installed cheek-by-jowl to BlonBa\u2019s three performers. The modest, one-room environmental setting resembles those makeshift canopied spaces propped up in the African countryside and powered by the electricity of a truck\u2019s battery. This adept comedy about an African couple\u2019s dashed hopes and familial despair is a contemporary urban update of the traditional genre of Mali social satire, thekot\u00e9ba<\/em>, fused with the celebratory spirit of a soumou <\/em>gathering (since a meal simmers away in a pot throughout the show).<\/p>\n

\"Diarrah
Diarrah Sanogo in \u201cBougouni\u00e9r\u00e9 invite \u00e0 d\u00eener,\u201d written by Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux and Alioune Ifra Ndiaye, direction by Patrick Le Mauff for Compagnie BlonBa at Les Francophonies en Limousin (Limoges, France) \u00a9 Gilles Perrin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The redoubtable Bougouni\u00e9r\u00e9, a recurring comic figure in the theatre pieces of Ndiaye and Sagot-Duvauroux, is waiting for the arrival of a big fish from the local United Nations developmental agency. Bougouni\u00e9r\u00e9 and her cynical architect of a husband, Dj\u00e9liba, are on the hunt for subsidies; they wish to lure a financial backer from one of the wealthy European countries with an authentic West African meal. Dj\u00e9liba\u2019s audacious dream is to build a huge panoramic restaurant resembling a giant hippopotamus on the hill of Hamdallaye, which dominates the Malian capital. Comic mishaps mount \u00abBougouni\u00e9r\u00e9 invite \u00e0 d\u00eener.\u00bb<\/p>\n

The play takes on a specific significance in Mali, a former outpost of the French colonial empire and one of the poorest Francophone countries in Africa. The play\u2019s moral dilemmas strike a powerful chord in the blighted banlieuses, where a significant proportion of the disaffected French youth and their Arab and African immigrant parents lack a clear place in French society.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Lassine
Lassine Coulibaly \u00ab King \u00bb, Michel Sangar\u00e9 and Diarrah Sanogo in \u201cBougouni\u00e9r\u00e9 invite \u00e0 d\u00eener,\u201d written by Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux and Alioune Ifra Ndiaye, direction by Patrick Le Mauff for Compagnie BlonBa at Les Francophonies en Limousin (Limoges, France) \u00a9 Gilles Perrin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sometimes Sagot-Duvauroux is the sole author of a BlonBa production. More frequently he works closely with Malian collaborators. BlonBa\u2019s major productions include: \u00abLe Retour de Bougouni\u00e9r\u00e9\u00bb (2000), \u00abS\u00e9gou Fassa\u00bb (2002) and \u00abSud-Nord, le kot\u00e8ba des quartiers\u00bb (2007). The 2010 musical \u00abBama Saba\u00bb was a turning point; BlonBa expanded its creations to embrace hip-hop musicals (\u00abL’homme aux six noms,\u00bb 2011) and \u00abPlus fort que mon p\u00e8re\u00bb (2013). And yet, BlonBa continues to tackle current events. Sagot-Duvauroux\u2019s most recent work, \u00abAla t\u00e8 sunogo\/Dieu ne dort pas\u00bb (2013) is a slapstick comedy with a political aim and is interpreted by Malian actors who lost their theater in Bamako because of the recent coup d’\u00e9tat in that African country. The chilling 2011 docufiction \u00abV\u00e9rit\u00e9 de soldat (A Soldier\u2019s Truth)\u00bb dramatizes the startling testimony of army captain Soungalo Samak\u00e9, the man who arrested Mali\u2019s first president, Modibo Keita. Samak\u00e9\u2019s tale of sound and fury was published by Amadou Traor\u00e9, head of the socialist regime in the first post-independence Malian republic, who was himself tortured by Samak\u00e9. A woman born of a war rape committed by a soldier confronts both men: Why publish this testimony, which only lends voice to the executioner and underscores contemporary Mali\u2019s problems during its reconstruction?<\/p>\n

Since 2005, Sagot-Duvauroux and I have conducted conversations about politics, art, language, Africa and France that freely mix French and English in translation. The following interview, which shifts from English to French midway, preserves that cross-linguistic translation-based flavor.<\/p>\n

\"Diarrah
Diarrah Sanogo in \u201cBougouni\u00e9r\u00e9 invite \u00e0 d\u00eener,\u201d written by Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux and Alioune Ifra Ndiaye, direction by Patrick Le Mauff for Compagnie BlonBa at Les Francophonies en Limousin (Limoges, France) \u00a9 Gilles Perrin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

RANDY GENER: <\/strong>\u00abBougouni\u00e9r\u00e9 invite \u00e0 d\u00eener\u00bb is an example of the kot\u00e9ba, a traditional form of Malian theater. It is, in fact, a contemporary kot\u00e9ba. In what ways does it continue with the tradition of the koteba? In what way is it different from traditional koteba? Is the urban setting of \u00abBougouni\u00e9r\u00e9 invite \u00e0 d\u00eener\u00bb what makes it different from traditional kot\u00e9ba?<\/p>\n

During the 1980s, several Malian artist comedians transposed the traditional koteba to fit the urban environment. Among them were Diarrah Sanogo and Michel Sangar\u00e9, both artists in our production (spectacle). Diarrah Sanogo created the art figure (art character) of Bougouni\u00e9r\u00e9: she\u2019s something like Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times. As in the traditional koteba, this theatre characterizes the burlesque (ludicrous) and satirically deals with social justice, a condition (or a representation) close to the social dynamic and social classes, as well as the political and moral issues affecting the society.<\/p>\n

One of the plays of this urban koteba demonstrates for the first time that the authority of the former Malian president, the dictator General Moussa Traore, can be publicly challenged in his presence. But the traditional rites of accompaniment had been removed from the play. The new koteba had been adapted to the frontal device of the western theatres where the scenic space is in the front of the public, whereas in the traditional koteba the public is around the scenic space.<\/p>\n

BlonBa, our company, has chosen to do more in-depth research on this modern koteba. In \u00abBougouni\u00e9r\u00e9 invite \u00e0 d\u00eener\u00bb, the public (spectators) is installed around the scenic space (show space). It is brought into play by the characters who very often challenge it. The meal prepared during the play calls for spectators to be implicated in the challenges of the fable.<\/p>\n

\u00abBougouni\u00e9r\u00e9 invite \u00e0 d\u00eener\u00bb is collaboration between two writers: one Malian and one French. As a French playwright and philosopher, how would you describe your own contribution to the \u00abBougouni\u00e9r\u00e9 invite \u00e0 d\u00eener\u00bb?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Alioune Ifra Ndiaye, a young television director, and I started BlonBa. Alioune is the director of the company. Our ambition is to firmly establish a strong and independent artistic company capable of expressing and analyzing the urgencies of Malian society of today without asking the permission from anybody. We do not separate the our company’ total financial stakes from the properly artistic choices. Each one of our spectacles was the fruit of common decisions and often collectively written. For the script of \u00abBougouni\u00e9r\u00e9 invite \u00e0 d\u00eener,\u00bb we both worked on the draft, and I put together the final product.<\/p>\n

This burlesque comedy reflects the political despair of the society. All collective solutions to social problems seem to be exhausted. Therefore, it is up to individuals to find their own solutions and not count on government interventions. Bougouni\u00e9r\u00e9 goes out and hunts for subsidies. Her husband Dj\u00e9liba dreams of a gigantic panoramic restaurant in the form of a giant hippopotamus. Their three sons run after mirages. The mirage of Islamism for one son; to become a delirious evangelist in America for the second son, and emigration for the third son. This political crisis takes on a particular significance in Mali. This crisis is one of the fundamental questions that has shaken our entire world.<\/p>\n

African societies are undergoing a profound moral crisis. This problem is deepened by the lack of self-confidence (people are unable to find their own solutions). This doubt contributes to the devastation. There is a strong temptation to wait for external solutions (international donors). But art production can not work like that! It is necessary for art to be born from the interior urgencies and\u2014for it to built from them. Alioune and I think that production issues and economic autonomy are at the heart of rebuilding a strong framework of artistic production in Africa.<\/p>\n

\"Adama
Adama Bagayoko as Soungalo in \u201cA Soldier\u2019s Story,\u201d a docu-fiction written by Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux based on \u201cMy Soldier\u2019s Life\u201d by Soungalo Samake; conception by Patrick Le Mauff, Alioune Ifra Ndiaye and Sagot-Duvaroux; direction by Patrick Le Mauff for Compagnie BlonBa (Mali and France) \u00a9 Patrick Fabre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Is there a division between \u201cFrench theatre\u201d and \u201cFrancophone theatre\u201d? Why are \u201cFrench writers\u201d not considered \u201cFrancophone writers\u201d? Is it a question of where a writer was born or raised? Can you be African and French at the same time? How are Francophone writers perceived in France?<\/p>\n

I have a double activity of writer. I write and publish essays of a philosophical nature centered on the French society, even if my Malian experience feeds them too. My artistic work as dramatist and screenwriter is centered on Mali. [Sagot-Duvauroux wrote the screenplay and dialogues for the 1999 film \u00abLa Gen\u00e8se\u00bb by the Malian filmmaker Cheick Oumar Sissoko.] So the questions you are asking me affect my life directly.<\/p>\n

\"Adama
Adama Bagayoko as Soungalo in \u201cA Soldier\u2019s Story,\u201d a docu-fiction written by Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux based on \u201cMy Soldier\u2019s Life\u201d by Soungalo Samake; conception by Patrick Le Mauff, Alioune Ifra Ndiaye and Sagot-Duvaroux; direction by Patrick Le Mauff for Compagnie BlonBa (Mali and France) \u00a9 Patrick Fabre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are plenty of examples of social and cultural imbalances we can talk about. First, our society accepts easily an American to be part of French culture, or a Hungarian or a Malian to work in France. But they admit with difficulty that a Frenchman can be, with the full meaning of the word, a true actor of the African artistic life. Second, when one speaks about history of art and of contemporary literature, it is difficult for people of non-western backgrounds to find their place. Explaining to the French that Malian theater form of koteba and its evolutions is not an exotic fantasy, but one of the central aspects of contemporary art and culture, is a very difficult task to achieve.<\/p>\n

In fact, a writer is classified as \u00abfrancophone\u00bb (French-speaking) when he\/she is at the peripheral of the Francophonie axis which is first and most France, and then there are the francophone countries of West. But being French and Malian at the same time? It maybe admissible to be considered French if one is black with a Malian name and lives in France. The opposite may be a little bit problematic! A French born in France and living in Africa will not be viewed easily as an African. However, life changes. Human relations, families and love connections are becoming very rapidly global phenomena. The French society is rather tolerant with respect to interracial unions. The family I created in Mali is an example of these unions. Life representations are far behind theses realities. Things are moving forward, and it is a good thing!<\/p>\n

\"Michel
Michel Sangar\u00e9, Ma\u00efmouna Doumbia and Adama Bagayoko in \u201cA Soldier\u2019s Story,\u201d a docu-fiction written by Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux based on \u201cMy Soldier\u2019s Life\u201d by Soungalo Samake; conception by Patrick Le Mauff, Alioune Ifra Ndiaye and Sagot-Duvaroux; direction by Patrick Le Mauff for Compagnie BlonBa (Mali and France) \u00a9 Patrick Fabre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For those of us around the world who might not be able to see your new creation but might be interested to know what it is, would you please describe the plot, concept, ideas or characters of \u00abPlus fort que mon p\u00e8re \u00bb?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Plus fort que mon p\u00e8re<\/em> est un portrait th\u00e9\u00e2tral et musical du rappeur Sidy Soumaoro, une des t\u00eates d\u2019affiche de la chanson hip hop au Mali. Connu sous le pseudonyme de Rams\u00e8s Damarifa, leader du groupe Tata pound, son rap patriotique tr\u00e8s engag\u00e9 en fait une des consciences de la jeunesse malienne d\u2019aujourd\u2019hui. Idrissa Soumaoro, le p\u00e8re de Rams\u00e8s, est, dans un genre tr\u00e8s diff\u00e9rent, un des chanteurs les plus prenants de la g\u00e9n\u00e9ration pr\u00e9c\u00e9dente. Le spectacle r\u00e9unit deux modes d\u2019expression \u2014 le th\u00e9\u00e2tre, et la musique hip hop \u2014 et deux personnages : Sidy, jou\u00e9 par le jeune rappeur ; Soumaoro, un conteur jou\u00e9 par Michel Sangar\u00e9 qui \u00ab repr\u00e9sente \u00bb sa prestigieuse lign\u00e9e. Ce personnage raconte l\u2019histoire du roi-forgeron Soumaoro Kant\u00e9, anc\u00eatre de Sidy, qui a eu un r\u00f4le d\u00e9terminant dans les \u00e9v\u00e9nements qui, au XIIIe<\/sup> si\u00e8cle, d\u00e9bouchent sur la fondation du Mali classique par Sunjata Ke\u00efta. Le r\u00e9cit de l\u2019histoire \u00e0 la fa\u00e7on des griots se tisse avec l\u2019\u00e9nergie prospective du rap pour composer le portrait d\u2019un artiste d\u2019aujourd\u2019hui, mais enracin\u00e9 dans la culture du Mali. Le p\u00e8re de Rams\u00e8s appara\u00eet \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9cran pour apaiser les tensions qui naissent entre les deux personnages.<\/p>\n

\"Michel
Michel Sangar\u00e9 and Sidy Soumaoro (aka Rams\u00e8s Damarifa) in \u201cPlus fort que mon p\u00e8re,\u201d with text by Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux and direction by Fran\u00e7ois Ha Van for Compagnie BlonBa, and performed at Ivry-sur-Seine, th\u00e9\u00e2tre Antoine-Vitez and Morsang-sur-Orge, th\u00e9\u00e2tre de l’Arlequin (France) \u00a9 Gilles Perrin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sidy
Sidy Soumaoro (aka Rams\u00e8s Damarifa) in \u201cPlus fort que mon p\u00e8re,\u201d with text by Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux and direction by Fran\u00e7ois Ha Van for Compagnie BlonBa, and performed at Ivry-sur-Seine, th\u00e9\u00e2tre Antoine-Vitez and Morsang-sur-Orge, th\u00e9\u00e2tre de l’Arlequin (France) \u00a9 Gilles Perrin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mali has been very much in the news because of the Malian military battling militants outside Gao. Is Blonba affected by these military fights? How are the Malian arts affected by these violence? Please offer any insight on how these French-led forces battling Islamist rebels may or may not affect Blonba or artists in general?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

BlonBa disposait \u00e0 Bamako d\u2019une salle de spectacle qui \u00e9tait devenue, au cours des ans, un des principaux centres de la vie culturelle malienne. Son rayonnement artistique \u00e9tait reconnu de tous, mais son \u00e9quilibre financier restait pr\u00e9caire. La d\u00e9sorganisation issue du coup d\u2019\u00c9tat du 22 mars 2012 a eu raison de cette salle que nous avons d\u00fb fermer. Mais si le hardware<\/em> a souffert, le software<\/em>, c\u2019est-\u00e0-dire la cr\u00e9ation se maintient \u00e0 un bon rythme. En octobre 2012, Tanyinibougou, une satire f\u00e9roce de la corruption en langue bamanan, a r\u00e9unit 3000 personnes dont cinq ministres au palais de la culture de Bamako. Et dans ces moments difficiles, le soutien de quelques th\u00e9\u00e2tres fran\u00e7ais nous a aid\u00e9 \u00e0 cr\u00e9er deux spectacles: Plus fort que mon p\u00e8re<\/em> en f\u00e9vrier et Dieu ne dort pas<\/em> en mai prochain. La cha\u00eene francophone TV5 a par ailleurs diffus\u00e9 trois de nos anciens spectacles. Face \u00e0 la menace obscurantiste qui p\u00e8se sur le pays, le maintien d\u2019une vie artistique libre et dense est un enjeu de premi\u00e8re importance, un moyen de r\u00e9sistance.<\/p>\n

\"Sidy
Sidy Soumaoro (aka Rams\u00e8s Damarifa) in \u201cPlus fort que mon p\u00e8re,\u201d with text by Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux and direction by Fran\u00e7ois Ha Van for Compagnie BlonBa, performed at Ivry-sur-Seine, th\u00e9\u00e2tre Antoine-Vitez and Morsang-sur-Orge, th\u00e9\u00e2tre de l’Arlequin (France) \u00a9 Gilles Perrin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\u00abDieu
\u00abDieu ne dort pas,\u00bb written by Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux, direction by Sagot-Duvauroux and Ndji Yacouba Traor\u00e9 for Compagnie BLonBa, performed by Th\u00e9\u00e2tre du Grand Parquet in Paris (France) \u00a9 Gilles Perrin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Blonba is a cooperation between a French writer (Sagot-Duvauroux) and Malian actors (Michel Sangar\u00e9 et Issiaka Kant\u00e9). How is this cooperation unique, culturally and politically, in terms of the general political situation between Mali and France.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

BlonBa a \u00e9t\u00e9 fond\u00e9 en 1998 par Alioune Ifra Ndiaye, son directeur, et moi-m\u00eame. C\u2019est une histoire de notre temps. Plusieurs artistes majeurs du Mali vivent en France et sont int\u00e9gr\u00e9s dans la vie culturelle de ce pays. Avec BlonBa, j\u2019ai fait le chemin dans l\u2019autre sens. Le d\u00e9passement de l\u2019h\u00e9ritage colonial, la construction d\u2019une force de proposition culturelle malienne financi\u00e8rement et artistiquement autonome sont au c\u0153ur du projet de BlonBa. La tr\u00e8s grande majorit\u00e9 de ceux qui le font vivre ont moins de quarante ans. Alioune Ifra Ndiaye avait 27 ans quand la compagnie a \u00e9t\u00e9 cr\u00e9\u00e9e. Cette nouvelle g\u00e9n\u00e9ration inventive et d\u00e9complex\u00e9e s\u2019inscrit tranquillement dans un monde \u00e9largi et multipolaire. Contrairement \u00e0 ce que j\u2019ai connu dans le pass\u00e9, le travail en commun, sans instrumentalisation r\u00e9ciproque, n\u2019a jamais pos\u00e9 de probl\u00e8me. C\u2019est nouveau et plein de promesse. Des exp\u00e9riences de ce type ouvrent la voie \u00e0 une modification souhaitable des rapports entre la France et ses anciennes colonies. C\u2019est possible et \u00e7a fait du bien.<\/p>\n

\"\u00abDieu
\u00abDieu ne dort pas,\u00bb written by Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux, direction by Sagot-Duvauroux and Ndji Yacouba Traor\u00e9 for Compagnie BLonBa, performed by Th\u00e9\u00e2tre du Grand Parquet in Paris (France) \u00a9 Gilles Perrin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\u00abDieu
\u00abDieu ne dort pas,\u00bb written by Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux, direction by Sagot-Duvauroux and Ndji Yacouba Traor\u00e9 for Compagnie BLonBa, performed by Th\u00e9\u00e2tre du Grand Parquet in Paris (France) \u00a9 Gilles Perrin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Would you be willing to allow me to post a short excerpt of your text from the production?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Voici deux extraits qui campent les deux personnages du spectacle :<\/p>\n

SIDY<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ce monde que tu vois autour de toi, nous les Noirs, nous l\u2019avons domin\u00e9. S\u00e9rieusement alors. \u00c0 ce temps l\u00e0, le toubab, c\u2019est \u00e0 dire le N\u00e9anderthal, lui tu le vois qui chasse l\u2019\u00e9cureuil, qui grimpe aux lianes. Il est l\u00e0 \u00e0 glapir autour de ses f\u00e9tiches. Sa culotte pue. C\u2019est pas parce qu\u2019il pisse dedans. Il pisse dedans. Mais la puanteur, c\u2019est sa culotte de peau. Est-ce que \u00e7a c\u2019est civilis\u00e9 ? Ah bon, tu crois que les pharaons d\u2019\u00c9gypte sont des Blancs ? Tu as vu les films am\u00e9ricains et tu crois que les pharaons, c\u2019est Leonardo Di Caprio, Georges Clooney, les pharaonnes, c\u2019est Hillary Clinton ? Pas du tout. Le pharaon, le vrai pharaon, l\u2019unique, celui qui r\u00e8gne sur la pharaonie tout enti\u00e8re, c\u2019est \u00e0 dire le monde, il est noir comme moi, comme mon p\u00e8re, ma m\u00e8re, mes fr\u00e8res, mes s\u0153urs, comme ma petite fille et tous les miens.<\/p>\n

\/\u2026\/<\/strong><\/p>\n

SOUMAORO<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sidy, le chanteur Idrissa Soumaoro est ton propre p\u00e8re. C\u2019est un des meilleurs musiciens du Mali. Il n\u2019est pas all\u00e9 chercher sa musique chez les Rams\u00e8s, ni chez les Michael Jackson. Il a enfourch\u00e9 la musique qu\u2019il a trouv\u00e9e ici, il a pris la route avec elle et il lui a donn\u00e9 des accents qu\u2019elle n\u2019avait encore jamais eus dans l\u2019histoire. Ton rap gueulard, \u00e0 c\u00f4t\u00e9 de la musique de ton p\u00e8re, c\u2019est du bruit !<\/p>\n

SIDY<\/strong><\/p>\n

Je suis plus fort que mon p\u00e8re.<\/p>\n

\"\u00abDieu
\u00abDieu ne dort pas,\u00bb written by Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux, direction by Sagot-Duvauroux and Ndji Yacouba Traor\u00e9 for Compagnie BLonBa, performed by Th\u00e9\u00e2tre du Grand Parquet in Paris (France) \u00a9 Gilles Perrin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\u00abDieu
\u00abDieu ne dort pas,\u00bb written by Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux, direction by Sagot-Duvauroux and Ndji Yacouba Traor\u00e9 for Compagnie BLonBa, performed by Th\u00e9\u00e2tre du Grand Parquet in Paris (France) \u00a9 Gilles Perrin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Can artists be diplomats? Do you feel the work of Blonba supports cultural diplomacy and mutual understanding between France and Mali?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Le Mali, l\u2019Afrique, le monde noir en g\u00e9n\u00e9ral ont \u00e9t\u00e9 plac\u00e9s \u00e0 la p\u00e9riph\u00e9rie du monde, en position subalterne par une histoire s\u00e9culaire de domination. \u00c0 travers l\u2019art, la musique, le th\u00e9\u00e2tre, des humains ont l\u2019audace de se placer au centre du cercle, de prendre la parole, d\u2019inviter les autres \u00e0 les \u00e9couter. C\u2019est ce qui se passe quand les artistes du Mali jouent nos spectacles, \u00e0 Bamako comme \u00e0 Paris ou \u00e0 Ottawa. Dans le moment du spectacle, le Mali devient pour tous les spectateurs le centre du monde. Et il parle. La conversation des cultures qui s\u2019engage ainsi ne comble pas les d\u00e9s\u00e9quilibres mat\u00e9riels et symboliques vertigineux provoqu\u00e9s par l\u2019esclavage et la colonisation, mais elle nous fait vivre momentan\u00e9ment une autre relation. Et comme cette relation nouvelle est riche, agr\u00e9able, f\u00e9conde, elle donne l\u2019envie de construire un autre monde, d\u2019exp\u00e9rimenter dans la vie ce qui a \u00e9t\u00e9 v\u00e9cu au th\u00e9\u00e2tre. C\u2019est notamment un enjeu vital pour les milliers de jeunes fran\u00e7ais n\u00e9s de familles maliennes et qui disposent des deux nationalit\u00e9s. Les armes font la guerre, mais les arts font la paix.<\/p>\n

\"Sidy
Sidy Soumaoro (aka Rams\u00e8s Damarifa) in \u201cPlus fort que mon p\u00e8re,\u201d with text by Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux and direction by Fran\u00e7ois Ha Van for Compagnie BlonBa, and performed at Ivry-sur-Seine, th\u00e9\u00e2tre Antoine-Vitez and Morsang-sur-Orge, th\u00e9\u00e2tre de l’Arlequin (France) \u00a9 Gilles Perrin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Michel
Michel Sangar\u00e9 and Sidy Soumaoro (aka Rams\u00e8s Damarifa) in \u201cPlus fort que mon p\u00e8re,\u201d with text by Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux and direction by Fran\u00e7ois Ha Van for Compagnie BlonBa, and performed at Ivry-sur-Seine, th\u00e9\u00e2tre Antoine-Vitez and Morsang-sur-Orge, th\u00e9\u00e2tre de l’Arlequin (France) \u00a9 Gilles Perrin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Michel
Michel Sangar\u00e9 and Sidy Soumaoro (aka Rams\u00e8s Damarifa) in \u201cPlus fort que mon p\u00e8re,\u201d with text by Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux and direction by Fran\u00e7ois Ha Van for Compagnie BlonBa, and performed at Ivry-sur-Seine, th\u00e9\u00e2tre Antoine-Vitez and Morsang-sur-Orge, th\u00e9\u00e2tre de l’Arlequin (France) \u00a9 Gilles Perrin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00abAla t\u00e8 sunogo\/Dieu ne dort pas,\u00bb written by Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux, direction by Sagot-Duvauroux and Ndji Yacouba Traor\u00e9 for Compagnie BLonBa, performed by Th\u00e9\u00e2tre du Grand Parquet in Paris (France)<\/p>\n

\n

\"Gener\"
\n<\/a>[1] Randy Gener<\/strong> is a Nathan Award-winning editor, writer, dramaturge, critic and artist in New York City. A contributor to National Public Radio, The Journalist<\/em> and TDF Stages<\/em>, he founded TheaterofOneWorld.org, a media project devoted to international politics, cultural diplomacy and global projects. For his editorial work and critical essays in American Theatre<\/em> magazine, Gener also received the SPJ Deadline Club Award for Best Arts Reporting and NLGJA Journalist of the Year Award, among others. He served as curatorial producer\/adviser for \u201cFrom the Edge: Performance Design in the Divided States of America,\u201d the USA National Exposition in 2011 Prague Quadrennial, which was re-mounted at LaMaMa LaGalleria and Penn State University.<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9<\/strong> 2013 Randy Gener
\nCritical Stages\/Sc\u00e8nes critiques<\/em> e-ISSN: 2409-7411<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This work is licensed under the
\nCreative Commons Attribution International License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Randy Gener[1] A philosopher, Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux writes gorgeous, trenchant essays that argue for the possibilities of human emancipation. His most important book, \u00abPour la gratuit\u00e9\u00bb (Descl\u00e9e de Brouwer, 1995), explores and analyzes the impasses of movement in social transformations during<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":114,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews","","tg-column-two"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/8\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2016\/03\/1246081376.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7ojFg-1x","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":773,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95\/revisions\/773"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}