Le Chat Pèlerin - The Pilgrim Cat
Puppetry for ages
Presented by COMPAGNIE NAMA (Mali)
Two clans, that of the mice and that of the cats, have listened to the same voice of a prophet. Each's interpretation of the prophet has led to accusations and constant quarreling. This quarrel between cat and mouse is a learning of oneself in the eyes of others in order to come to understand that one can look at the world differently without exposing oneself to a battle. Halfway between expressions in the Bambara language and sentences in French, between Western codes and those linked to traditional cultures in Mali, the creation engages in a "creolization" of the story: a confrontation of referents that unite or divide but end up bringing people together when we learn to listen to each other.
CREDITS
Adaptation, direction, visual design - Yacouba MAGASSOUBA and Emilie RACINE | Artistic support - Claire HEGGEN | Movement advisor - Laurence Castonguay EMERY | Performed by Salif BERTHÉ, Sekou COUMARE, Aoua CAMARA, Ramata KONÉ | Music - Sekou DEMBÉLÉ | Participants in the workshop production, as part of the Continuing Professional Training in Puppetry Arts financed by the DOEN Foundation (Bamako) - Sekou COUMARE, Ange CAMARA, Didi THOMAS, Kalicha Dongossi OUATTARA, Laure TRAORE, Aoua CAMARA, Alassane KOUMA, Salif ZONGO, Yacouba MAGASSOUBA and Emilie RACINE.
COMPAGNIE NAMA
Created in Bamako (Mali) in 2010 under the leadership of puppeteer Yacouba Magassouba, Compagnie NAMA creates and brings to life several types of puppets, such as string puppets, inhabited masks, articulated puppets and giant puppets. Each of its creations transports the audience to the rhythms of traditional music, to the heart of a revisited tradition. Recipient in 2017 of the Bronze Medal in the discipline "Giant Puppets" at the Francophone Games in Côte d'Ivoire, Nama presents its shows in countries including Spain, Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Canada and now South Africa.
YACOUBA MAGASSOUBA (Director)
Born in 1981 in Mali, Yacouba Magassouba is a director, puppeteer and show technician. He was initiated and trained in the art of puppetry by his uncle, puppeteer Yaya Coulibaly, of the Sogolon company from 2000 to 2012. This work led him to travel on various tours and festivals in Burkina Faso, Spain, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Martinique, Ivory Coast, Benin, Central Africa, Togo, Niger. Congo, Guinea and Senegal. He was notably part of the cast of the show Tall Horse by the Handspring Puppet company during the 2004 tour in South Africa and Germany.
Keen to free himself from the family framework and bring his own vision to the art of puppetry, in 2010, he created the Nama Company, which combines puppetry, dance and masks inhabited by the rhythm of traditional songs and percussion. He then integrated women into his company for the first time and has since trained them by organizing numerous non-mixed training sessions. His company received the Bronze Medal in the Giant Puppets discipline at the 8th Francophone Games in Côte d'Ivoire in July 2017. Since 2013 Yacouba has been the director of the Association Art Marionnette, Musique, Clowns et Danse dans nos Rues, a structure that founded the Rendez-Vous Chez Nous Festival in Bamako, the first street arts festival in Mali.
Le Chat Pèlerin is part of Pro-Vocation Roots and Wings – An International Exchange on Puppetry Arts in Africa, presented by the Professional Training Commission of UNIMA International, the UNIMA Africa Commission, and UNIMA SA, in partnership with The Centre for Humanities Research (CHR)/ University of the Western Cape (UWC). This is the 4th iteration of Pro-Vocation which will take place at the CHR’s Iyatsiba Lab in Greatmore Street, Woodstock. A program of performances will take place at Theatre Arts in Observatory as well as Ndawo Yobomi Youth Centre in Makhaza.
This event, positioned on the African continent for the first time, is dedicated to exploring and celebrating the living traditions and contemporary innovations of African puppetry pedagogies. It emphasizes the innovative and critical aspects of puppetry training across Africa, focusing on continental priorities through African exchange and global perspectives.
