INTERNATIONAL SHOW
On This Side
De ce côté
ARTIST: Dieudonné Niangouna
55 min | Ages 14+
- March 13, 14, and 15, Friday and Saturday at 8 PM, and Sunday at 6 PM
- Sesc Vila Mariana – Teatro Antunes Filho | Rua Pelotas, 141, Vila Mariana
- Accessible Location
- The session on March 14 features Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) interpretation and audio description
SYNOPSIS
In this intimate monologue with autofictional elements, Congolese playwright Dieudonné Niangouna questions theater, exile, and his place as an artist between two worlds. The narrator, Dido, is a former actor living in seclusion in a bar, estranged from his family, his homeland, and his audience. Haunted by memories and absences, he lives alongside the ghosts of the past until the day a director offers him a role in a play. In a dark, restrained setting, Dido is compelled to face his demons, bury the dead, and ultimately return to the stage with a renewed vision of what politically engaged theater should be.
BACKGROUND
Dieudonné Niangouna is an author, director, actor, and teacher, born in the Republic of the Congo. In 1997, he founded the company Les Bruits de la Rue in Brazzaville. He made himself known at the Festival d’Avignon with several plays since 2007, and has also been an Associate Artist in 2013. His prolific work, widely recognized across Europe, Africa, and Latin America, is published by houses such as Les Solitaires Intempestifs and L’Espace d’un instant. In 2021, he received the Académie Française award for his complete body of dramatic work. He is also a novelist and poet; La mise en papa won the 2023 Grand Prix Afrique Avant-Garde. He co-founded the Mantsina-sur-Scène Festival in Brazzaville. MITsp previously presented The Foundation of Vertigo in 2019.
CRITICAL RECEPTION
“Through this solo performance, Dieudonné Niangouna offers us a text of great beauty, a dramatic poem whose finely crafted words resonate powerfully. We let ourselves be carried by his voice in this intimate and political narrative. A unique and powerful work.”
Charly Guibaud, La Provence
“The strength of his language and the density of his presence make this monologue a vibrant love song to theater, the last refuge in the face of wars of every kind that shake the world.”
Fabienne Arvers, Les Inrockuptibles
CREDITS
Text, stage direction, and performance: Dieudonné Niangouna
Lighting design and technical direction: Laurent Vergnaud
Video creation: Sean Hart
Production: Compagnie Les Bruits de la Rue
Co-production: Théâtre des 13 Vents – CDN Montpellier
The compagnie Les Bruits de la rue is supported by the DRAC Ile-de-France – Ministry of Culture.