Portrait de Rita

In September 2023, Mathis, a nine-year-old schoolboy near Charleroi, suffers racist insults from his classmates. In reaction, he flies into a rage that the school deems uncontrollable, and it decides to call the police. On arrival, his mother Rita finds her son pinned to the ground by a police officer.

This "sad stand-up" follows the journey of this mother, a Cameroonian businesswoman turned home help, and questions an identity path that does not belong to her. The singularity of this show lies in the meeting of three perspectives: that of a mother, at the heart of the story; that of an actress, herself a victim of ethno-racial discrimination; and that of a white trans author. Three viewpoints that intersect, united by the same experience of fetishisation and dehumanisation.

"Bare stage, empty, with a microphone on a stand at its centre. No artifice, nothing to comfort. We knew it, the moment will be harsh. Moving and mesmerising." - L'Humanité

With: Bwanga Pilipili. Lighting: Kelig Le Bars. Musical direction: Laurène Marx. Musical creation: Maïa Blondeau with the participation of Nils Rougé. Artistic collaboration: Jessica Guilloud. Assistant: Elsa Rayan.

Production: Compagnie Hande Kader / Bureau des Filles*. Co-production: Théâtre Ouvert-Centre National des Dramaturgies Contemporaines, Les Quinconces et L'Espal SN du Mans, Le Festival d'Automne à Paris, Le Théâtre National Wallonie Bruxelles, Les Halles de Schaerbeek, Collectif FAIR-E CCN Rennes, Théâtre National de Strasbourg, Théâtre Sorano Scène conventionnée, Toulouse.