Pour faire du théâtre, il faut boxer la situation. Dieudonné Niangounas théâtre de l’urgence

Abstract

At present, the Congolese playwright Dieudonné Niangouna is one of the African authors whose theatre attracts increasing attention in France and other European countries. In Nkenguégi (2016), he treats the tragedy of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean, the causes of migration in the Republic of Congo and the crisis of welcome culture in the West. His motto “Pour faire du théâtre, il faut boxer la situation” is reflected in Nkenguégi through the depiction of violence, corruption, repression and the restriction of freedom in Brazzaville. Niangouna’s theatre is a total theatre that combines music, vocals, dance, performance, expressive gestures, noises and eloquent text theatre with visual media such as video, film and painting. The influence of popular culture becomes evident in Nkenguégi through animal masks, the rumba congolaise, the tradition of the conteur, the use of lari and the theatricality of street theatre practiced initially by Niangounas company Les bruits de la rue.