Directed and dramaturged by Ivorian artist Fargass Assandé, this work is a theatrical project by the 4th year students of the Institute, interpretation and scenography, which invites spectators to an African cultural mix, but which also aims to introduce ISADAC students to professional life.
In a statement to MAP on this occasion, Mr. Assandé indicated that the interest of “Un Sang Fort”, by the 1986 Nobel Prize for Literature, Wole Soyinka, responds to two considerations: artistic and educational, adding that this work invites future laureates to an immersion in the professional world to see the difficulties they could face.
“I was asked to work on this project as a teacher and director. I did it with great pride, because from Rabat, the African capital of culture, I participated in events that are the expression of a strong Royal decision to make Morocco a center of African culture and in particular of African theater,” rejoiced Mr. Assandé who supervised the students for a period of four weeks.
Bouncing back on the choice of the text “Un Sang Fort”, published in the original English version in 1964, the Ivorian playwright evoked the problem of “otherness”, which occupies a growing place in our world, to the point that “the human is also the acceptance of the Other”.
And to continue that “rejection, racism and even xenophobia are evils that have divided the world. It is up to us to remind, and through young people, who are the future, that the Other is another of ourselves.”
This theatrical work is therefore intended to be “an invitation to rediscover the journey of recognizing the Other, the journey of questioning our traditions and the reminder of the Other as being another of ourselves”, he explained, noting that it is also about learning to “admit and build our differences”.
For her part, the director of ISADAC, Latifa Ahrar, recalled that this project of the 4th year students of the Institute is part of the South-South cooperation and cultural exchange. It is in fact, she said, an artistic and educational reflection within the framework of collaboration with the African continent.
At the Institute level, we called on Mr. Assandé as a teacher, first of all, and then as an African playwright and director, added Ms. Ahrar.
After several discussions, we chose Wole Soyinka’s text because it carries several messages. It is a “profound” text as its title indicates, she said.
Issam El Yousfi, professor at ISADAC and playwright, noted that the text is a “premeditated” choice to open up to an African culture that “is very close to us” and at the same time to highlight a unique experience in terms of writing.
This choice is a little difficult but we are making it part of a solid training and a desire to introduce our students to professional life, he explained, noting that this project is part of a spirit that is both educational and an introduction to the profession.
The work is supervised by an Ivorian director based in France who has extensive experience as an actor and director, he said, adding that Mr. Assandé accompanied the students for more than four weeks.
“This allows our students to work in real professional conditions and to have the responsibility of making fairly clear artistic choices in terms of the profession,” said Mr. El Yousfi.
The particularity of this text and this choice is the presence of a singular cultural and artistic dimension insofar as our students will be marked by the crossing of this story and its different characters. We therefore tried to put them to the test of this challenge, he said.
Speaking about his contribution to this project, Mr. El Yousfi indicated that he worked on translating excerpts from the text into classical or Moroccan dialectal Arabic. “It is a somewhat complex choice to combine three levels and registers of languages, but also a challenge for our students to be able to also think about the game and the board,” he testified.
It is indeed “a great adventure” initiated by the management of ISADAC with a spirit of openness and an opportunity to share this fruit with as many people as possible, he concluded.
2024-09-19 14:30:23