Peur de la couleur (Fear of color)

Note of intent- Mamby Mawinee

I've never been interested in doing theater without a purpose. I've always created shows that have meaning. For me, theater should serve to raise awareness, expose what's wrong, and change people's views on certain issues. Why this creation? My daughter Ramata was born with albinism and grew up in a society where people like her are discriminated against and marginalized for being different. Ramata is fortunate to be surrounded by a family that has given her access to education, allowing her to pursue all kinds of activities. However, many children like her live in much less favorable conditions.

In Senegal, for example, some women force their albino children to beg for alms every day under the sun, completely ignoring the disastrous effects of the sun on their skin. Albino women are also raped due to beliefs that promote the idea that having sex with them brings wealth. During election season in Senegal, many families with albino children have to hide them by having them kidnapped for sacrifice.

In other African countries, albinos are expelled from villages or cut into pieces and sold in the market to be used as amulets.

With this show, we want to show how even supposedly “normal” people can be cruel towards those with disabilities or considered different. We also seek to raise awareness among children, adolescents and adults about the problems that albino people must face.

We chose to use masks and puppets in this performance because of their sacred and ritual dimension. Puppets offer representational possibilities that cannot be achieved through realism alone. Puppets also open up the imaginary world that only our childlike soul can see. In this performance, we also chose not to use text, but rather to let the body speak through movement. Sometimes, a gesture toward someone can do more damage than an insult or a slap. A glance can hurt like a pistol bullet. This story is also told through music, which is an integral part of the performance.

Note of intent – Alicia Soto

Director Mamby Mawine and I have many things in common, including why, or rather, why, we create a dance or theater piece. For all these reasons, we decided to create this collaborative piece, supported by a four-year artistic and personal relationship that began with the Yaakaar project, in which I am involved.

In a predominantly white Western society, albinism can go almost unnoticed. However, I witnessed the impact Ramata's presence had on the other children in her environment, and this left me deeply touched and aware of the serious social and cultural problems that existed—at least in the part of Africa where we were located.

So, talking about the problems of albinos seemed more than necessary, and the best way to raise awareness and expose this injustice was to create a piece for children.

And although the theme is tough, and the research on the topic helped us build a dramaturgy, decide what we wanted to tell and how; The work is built like a fable, full of poetry, where the puppets help us recreate fantastic characters. The masks, the comedy of art, give us a pinch of humor, and the body, the dance, tells us the story from emotion, because our story speaks of fear and love.

From the fear of what is different, of everything that goes beyond the established or mostly existing norms, shapes and colors, and only with love can we accept it.

The work was created in two phases, during 2023 and will conclude in 2024 with its premiere at the Djaram'Art festival.

In short, Fear of Color is a puppet and dance show aimed at children ages 8 and up, performed by young people. A poetic fable about fear and love, the protagonist of which is an albino girl.