“Black card named desire” at the Odéon, an Afro-feminist cry of rage

2023-11-30 20:00:22

It’s a piece that hit the headlines and can be seen at the Odéon until December 17. Titled Black card named desire in reference to the slogan of the famous coffee brand, Rébecca Chaillon’s creation explores the stereotypes that stick to the skin of black women. Hypersexualization, fetishism, sexism, racism, colonialism… Accompanied by seven Afro-descendant artists, the director of Martinique origin tackles these clichés head-on in a succession of shocking performances mixing grotesque, kitsch and scathing humor.

Created in 2021 at the National Drama Center in Nancy, the play enjoyed a good critical reception before making a very controversial appearance at the last Avignon Festival. Some disgruntled spectators even uttered insults and attacked actresses, during and outside performances. Faced with the excitement of the far right on social networks and cyberharassment, one of them, Fatou Siby, decided not to return to the stage for the tour.

Plastic babies skewered

One scene, in particular, set things on fire: white plastic dolls (and one black) being skewered on picks, carried by one of the actresses. The provocative image seeks to illustrate the overwork of nannies from good families, who carry out their work in poor conditions and are often underpaid. Each in turn, the performers embody white mothers, who fervently proclaim their joy at having “their Fatou” available at the slightest snap of the fingers.

Like this scene, the aesthetic of Rébecca Chaillon, who has been accused of “racist anti-Whites”, is violently denunciative. But during the premiere night at the Ateliers Berthier in Paris, the audience – certainly informed – did not seem to be offended by the scene. It must be said that the image is not exactly the same as in Avignon: here, black babies are also skewered in the back of the wearer, pulled out one by one from under her dress. To better show the double burden of nannies, also required to take care of their children and those of their community?

“One might think that we are continuing oppression, but in fact it is very different. It’s a reappropriation of our image”justifies the author and director in the show file.

In the same spirit, soft sofas are reserved “to black or Afro-descendant women” on the other side of the plateau, opposite the main stand. A way of“address the question of privilege » according to her, but also to create a “protected space” for this part of the public, which could be particularly sensitive to the play.

“Something that repairs us a little”

Black card named desire is a deep cry of rage, straight from the guts of the author and the artists who share the stage with her. And when entering the doors of the Workshops, spectators must expect to be jostled by the rules of the game imposed by the troupe. For example, when the actresses begin a parody of Questions for a champion, and start stealing bags from the stand to make people guess the word « colonisation ».

The actresses take turns at the reins of the performances, starting with the corpulent Rébecca Chaillon, naked, who washes the floor and then her body with the same bleach, for forty-five minutes… This kind of carnal and disorderly opera is not devoid of poetry, thanks to softer images, such as the tree of life made of braids, immersed in an orange light. Special mention for Makeda Monnet, who amazes the audience with her talents as a harpist and her magnificent soprano voice.

Going back on stage after the incidents in Avignon required courage from the troupe, admits Rébecca Chaillon between two performances, to the loud applause of the spectators. “We chose to invent something that repairs us a little”, she reveals before inviting the author Léonora Miano to join her, to read a text replacing a scene by Fatou Siby. Each evening a different personality will carry out this task, notably the director Alice Diop and the journalist and author Rokhaya Diallo.