Florestant – a young married man – left his wife in their house and went to see Urinette – a prostitute. However, neither Urinette’s touch nor his own imagination succeed in animating the young man. After several unsuccessful attempts, Urinette – desperate and furious – leaves Florestant alone and ashamed.

Glove-puppet

Adults

France

Paris

Printed

Vaudeville

Slang

Prostitution

Brothel

Adultery

Eroticism

Comical

Erotic

Félicien Rops, frontispiece for the Théâtre érotique de la rue de la Santé (1864).

French

Young man

Prostitute

Monologue

Scene of copulation

Situation comedy

Sung scenes

Posture corporelle comique

Comedy of language

Un caprice

A whim

After a long silent prologue evoking the creation of the world and then the fertilisation of an ovum by a “ballet of spermatozoids”, the Poète (Poet) brings into focus the birth of two characters – Homme (Man) and then Femme (Woman). They both feel the “tragic desire to be made complete”. They make love and are thus made whole. But disease, infidelity, weapons and secrets appear with the birth of the city. Homme and Femme forget one another. A new concrete city takes over the old one, and no space is left for emotions. Homme finds himself in a crowd led by money, proprietorship and the market. Why waste your life for machines, Homme asks? Why give birth to children in a world that is filled with pain, Femme asks as an echo? Determined “not to accept the unacceptable”, “not to allow to not live” and to “organise the dream”, they meet again before fading into the growing darkness.

Rod puppet

Metz

Love

Sexuality

Labour

Daily life

Industry

Pollution

Madness

Lyrical

Philosophical tale

Gabriel Cousin, Oratorio pour une vie, L'Avant-scène théâtre, n° 702, 1982 (cover page)

Poet

Love duet

Hands visible

Inserting poetry

Avista

Chorus

Oratorio pour une vie

Oratorio for a life

Worried about his succession, the lion king Maghan listens to the predictions of fortune tellers and marries Sogolon Kédjou, the buffalo-woman, despite her ugliness; he has a son with her, Sunjata, who is destined to be king of Manding. This choice prompts the anger of his first wife, Sassouma Bérété, for Maghan is depriving their son, Dankara Touman, of his prestigious heritage. Young Sunjata grows up, but, at seven years old, still does not walk. The crowd rumbles against this infirm heir, becomes threatening and eventually declares Dankara Touman the head of the kingdom. Growing old, king Maghan, still believing the words of the fortune tellers, entrusts his griot to Sunjata, and by doing so, contests Dankara’s legitimacy. Exasperated, Sassouma Bérété solicits a group of witches to murder young Sunjata, but this plan fails. She demands that the griot be abducted and sent to the court of Manding’s great enemy, Soumaoro Kanté, king of Sosso. After a lively argument with his half-brother Dankara, Sunjata, driven out from the kingdom, goes into exile. He finds refuge at the court of king Mamé where he receives training and becomes a great warrior. In his absence, Soumaoro Kanté has had multiple conquests, thus leading to Dankara Touman taking flight, and to the doom of the kingdom of Manding. Called by his mother who implores him to come back in order to fulfil his destiny, Sunjata returns, applauded by the crowd. Determined, he declares war against Soumaoro Kanté. The griot relates Sunjata’s war exploits and sings his glorious posterity.

Body shadows

Shadow theatre

Not specified

Strasbourg

Aulnay-sous-bois

Electronic text

Africa

Oral tradition

Legendary King

Tale

Destiny

Bravery

Conquest

Revenge

Griot

Crowd

Ugliness

Infirmity

Music and esotericism

Return

Disability

Epic

Fantasy

Dramatic

Amoros et Augustin and Ki-Yi M'Bock Théâtre, Sunjata, photograph of the performance

L'épopée mandingue

Marâtre

King

Choir

Queen

Mother

Witch

Verbal sparring

Pantomime

Instrumental tune

Aria

Sunjata

Botius – a philosopher – lives a happy life. He succumbs to despair and madness when his partner Opina leaves him for another man. He is then attacked by hooligans, who pull his eyes out. Police offices come to his aid, but they lead him near his mother’s skeleton. He falls into a sort of grave and does not manage to escape. He tries to find reassurance in reminding himself that he still has the ability to think. Hooligans urinate on him, and he catches a glimpse of Opina’s legs, which are dangling. A rope appears. He tries to haul himself out of the hole, but the rope only leads to a void. His head is cut in half and his brain explodes and spills all over the floor. His lookalike appears, then so does Opina. She kisses the lookalike and leaves with him. Hooligans are being carried on crosses, on which they are crucified upside down. Their wails torment Botius. He comes closer to them and realizes that they are dead. A cart driver and a horse arrive. Botius calls out to the cart driver so that he may pick up his brain. The horse tears off one of the hooligans’ head and holds it by the hair between its teeth. They leave. Botius meets a pregnant woman and an old man. The couple begins to make love. A child walks up tentatively. The horse comes back and devours the child. Botius asks it to eat him too, to put an end to his misery, but the horse goes away. He concludes that his soul must be difficult to digest.