Prophétique (on est déjà né.es)

Welcome to Abidjan! In this teeming metropolis, the lives of trans people alternate between secrecy and the spotlight. By day, they work in hair and beauty salons; by night, they burn up the stage with sensuality and humour. Magnificent and slyly provocative, abandoned and oppressed, the divas of Prophétique move from taking care to speaking out, from the personal to the political, expressing their explosive double lives with the help of coupé-décalé and voguing.

Thanks to choreographer Nadia Beugré’s gift for showcasing her collaborators’ vital energy, the six performers from Côte d’Ivoire, Brazil, and Belgium reveal the full truth, holding nothing back. The setting is the neighbourhood of Yopougon, but it could be any place where injustice, exclusion, and violence hold sway. All the same, a thread of hope and freedom runs through this work that’s both biting and tender—there’s a good chance you’ll get barked at, but in the sweetest way possible.

Produced by Libr’Arts
Artistic Director Nadia Beugré
Performed by Beyoncé + Canel + Jhaya Caupenne + Taylor Dear + Acauã Shereya El Bandide + Kevin Kero
Set Design Jean-Christophe Lanquetin
Lighting Design Anthony Merlaud
Assistant Director Christian Romain Kossa
Outside Eye Nadim Bahsoun + Adonis Nebié
Light Manager Bia Kaysel
Production Director Virginie Dupra

Coproduced by Kunstenfestivaldesarts (Brussels) + Théâtre Le Rideau (Brussels) + Points communs (Cergy-Pontoise) + Montpellier Danse + Holland Festival (Amsterdam) + CULTURESCAPES 2023 Sahara + ICI—Centre chorégraphique national Montpellier Occitanie / direction Christian Rizzo + Fonds Transfabrik – Fonds franco-allemand pour le spectacle vivant + Tanz im August / HAU Hebbel am Ufer (Berlin) + La Place de la danse CDCN Toulouse Occitanie + théâtre Garonne scène européenne – Toulouse + Les Spectacles Vivants — Centre Pompidou (Paris) + Festival d’Automne à Paris + SPIELART (Munich) + Theater Freiburg + Africa Moment
With the support of Direction régionale des affaires culturelles Occitanie – Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication

Creative residencies Agora de la danse Montpellier Danse + La Place de la danse CDCN Toulouse Occitanie + Théâtre Le Rideau (Brussels)

Special thanks to Ivoire Marionnettes Abidjan + Institut français de Côte d’Ivoire

Presented by Fugues with the support of Institut Français + Consulat général de France à Québec in association with Carrefour international de théâtre (Québec) + Monument-National

Premiered at Théâtre Le Rideau, Kunstenfestivaldesarts (Brussels), on May 11, 2023

Written by Enora Rivière
Translated by David Dalgleish