An African Hamlet

[Leanore Lieblein]

Hello,
This French African adaptation of Hamlet may be of interest to some.  
Best, Leanore

HAMLET

BOYOKANI COMPANY
Adaptation and production : Hugues Serge Limbvani (Congo-Brazza)
Texts in French with chants in Congolese, Ivorian, and Benin languages
Subtitled in English on Thursdays, April 19 and 26 and Saturday, April 28.

 From April 18 to 29
Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.
Sundays at 3:30 p.m. ? Family matinee free for ages 15 and under
Tickets : Regular $20 / Reduced $15 ? With subscription : Regular $16 / 
Reduced $12
Box office: (514) 982-3386

Ceux qui sont morts ne sont jamais partis :
Ils sont dans l?Ombre qui s?éclaire
Et dans l?Ombre qui s?épaissit.
[Translation:?The dead are never gone / They are in the Shadow that 
clears away / And  in the Shadow that thickens?]
 From Souffles,  Birago Diop (1906-1989)

Text : Shakespeare / Translation : Jean-Michel Déprats (Éditions 
Gallimard) / Actors : Maïmouna Doumbia (Mali), Momo Ekissi (Ivory 
Coast), Hugues Serge Limbvani (Congo-Brazza), Franck Betermin (France), 
Jacques Éric Mampouya (Congo-Brazza), Vict Ngoma, (Congo-Brazza), 
Paulette Kpomahou (Benin), and Addoulaye Seydi (Senegal) / Set Design: 
Hugues Serge Limbvani / Lighting Design : Pierre Gille (France) / 
Operating Board : Alain Tomety Sena Kossi (Togo) / Costumes : Ndiassé 
(Senegal)

The MAI is proud to present the BOYOKANI Company in Montreal for the 
first time. This international company has already delighted German, 
Swiss, Slovenian, Italian, Cameroonian, and Senegalese audiences, among 
others. After adapting Othello in 1999, Hugues Serge Limbvani continues 
his exploration of Shakespeare?s works by integrating such themes as 
forced marriage, respect for the dead, the mythical powers of ghosts, 
and a son?s vendetta within the framework of modern-day Africa.

Limbvani?s Hamlet becomes the story of a woman, Gertrude, who is forced 
by tradition to marry an older man. The young prince, Hamlet, is the 
fruit of that forced union. Yet, Gertrude loves Claudius, her 
brother-in-law, and decides to take advantage of the custom that says 
?the younger brother may inherit his brother?s wife when he dies??.

Conceived beneath Dakar?s billowing palm trees, with an extraordinary 
cast of French and African artists, this adaptation of Hamlet brings 
together Shakespearean verse, colloquial language, the art of 
storytelling, song, and dance.

Boyokani means a union or an understanding in Lingala, a language 
spoken in Central Africa, particularly in Congo-Brazza and 
Congo-Kinshasa. The Boyokani Company creates and  produces new works 
while training and bringing together artists of different cultures and 
languages. Moreover, it seeks to promote different art forms (dance, 
music, poetry, visual arts) in tandem with the medium of theatre. Its 
founder Hugues Serge Limbvani (Congo-Brazza/France) is an actor, 
musician, singer, dancer,  and choreographer. Since the age of 14, he 
has been involved in theatre. As Artistic Director of the Boyokani 
Company, he has developped, adapted, and produced several plays, 
notably, Les bouts de bois de Dieu by Sembène Ousmane and Shakespeare?s 
Othello. He has participated in numerous theatre and storytelling 
festivals, as well as collaborated with Radio France Internationale 
(RFI) in Textes et Dramaturgies du Monde, and Radio Africa n°1.

?Peter Brook, who has so often worked in Africa, has found a kind of 
successor within the energetic Limbvani.?
Mathilde La Bardonnie, Libération, Paris, December 2005 [translation].

Conversation with the artists every Friday after the show.

Presse : Aneth Sin, comm at m-a-i.qc.ca, (514) 982-1812




Leanore Lieblein,
Past Professor of English
McGill University

2090 av de Vendôme
Montréal (QC)  H4A 3M5
Tél: (514) 489-5651