Back to the Theater

When I described teaching Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun, I lamented that there were not more opportunities for students to see live theater. So when I found out that a colleague’s play was being performed downtown, I eagerly invited a couple of students to attend. Two of the three undergraduate literature majors (everyone else in our department is linguists) were eager to go, but the problem is transportation. There is no way of getting back to the campus by taxi or taxibus at 9 or 10pm on a Friday night. If they could find transport to Ngaba, it would take a couple hours from the theater (at that time, there are few vehicles and lots of passengers). Then they would have to walk up the hill from Ngaba to where they live, which would take well over an hour. One student had told me she wanted to go; I told her to invite the other, and I told them I would meet them at the theater (I had some other things to do during the day) and could take them home afterwards. They are both the daughters of professors and neighbors.

I didn’t do anything--but it was a really big deal for the students and I think they really appreciated it. One called me on Sunday to invite me to have Easter dinner with her family. I was not able to join them because I had another invitation, but it was very thoughtful.

The play was being performed as part of a festival “Yambi,” which will be traveling to Brussels next year. I saw two productions, both excellent. The first was Toréadors (by Jean-Marie Piemme), which was set in a laundry. It begins when a prospective patron in soiled clothes shows up five minutes before closing. Some extremely witty exchanges ensue, and a very touching odd couple friendship emerges that includes a Christmas Eve dinner. The play managed to offer some commentary on labor, economics, politics, and friendship. The highlight of the play was the troubadour, Jean Goubard (who the students tell me is a pretty popular singer), who performed these seemingly improvised and hysterically funny songs on an acoustic guitar in between scenes. He would riff on the final words of the previous act, which was always something like fonctionnaire (civil servant) or cuisse de poulet (chicken leg). Think Jonathan Richman in There’s Something About Mary.

The second play I saw was Le Remaniement (The Reorganization), which is written by a colleague at UniKin, Thierry Nlandu. It is a political satire and, like Toréadors, is a really effective balance of comedy and political commentary. It was performed by the same cast I saw do it a couple of months ago, and I enjoyed watching it again. In the interim, I read the play which helped since there is a lot of word play, puns, and its pace is quick which is challenging for me to follow in French (compared to the other play which gave me little trouble). Again, a full house and a nice evening.

I have been in Kinshasa six months now, and some things are starting to feel comfortable. At the theater, I knew a bunch of people--in addition to my students and colleague, there was the brother of a friend of a friend who I met a couple of months ago, a professor at another university who I met last month, someone who attended my Lire en Fête presentation back in October, etc. Still, on the ride home, as I discussed the play with my students, I think we were all grateful for my Nissan Sunny as we passed taxibuses (minivans) with people riding on the roofs. Even after six months, I find myself staring; it still does not feel familiar or comfortable.