La Nuit Juste Avant les Fôrets
Dito’Dito made a tour of youth clubs in Brussels with the play “La Nuit Juste Avant les Fôrets” in March 1998.
In 1977, French writer Bernard-Marie Koltès wrote this monologue about urban alienation. The main character is a stranger in the city. He walks into a pub and starts talking about his experiences of fear and happiness, anger and joy, sadness and tenderness. The actor on stage is the wordy visitor to the city; the audience takes the role of the listeners in the pub.
Willy Thomas translated and with rapper Rival staged the play in 1995 for the Kunstenfestivaldesarts. They decided to re-stage it in Brussels’ Youth Clubs “ to reach a young urban audience in their own places”. To bridge the gap between the youth clubs’ traditional sphere of interest and the theatre, workshops addressing the play’s themes were organised in every club. With the initiative Dito’Dito aspired to knock theatre of its pedestal, and make it more accessible to people who are not tempted to go to theatre houses. At the same time the project made clear that dramatic art can address contemporary urban issues.
La nuit Juste avant les fôrets was a co-production with Dito’Dito and Jeugd en Stad and youth clubs Mutske, JIA, Schabernak, De Bezem, Tongeluk, De Schakel, Kortsluiting and Alleman.
Ongoing projects:
L-Atlas
Precare
Generalized Empowerment
Krax
Micronomics
Cartografie
Bouillot
Publications:
Bunker Souple Repertorium 1998 & 2000: available at Citymine(d) offices.
Generalized Empowerment. Uneven Development and Urban Interventions, 2006. Download here.
MapRAC. Plannen voor het RijksAdministratief Centrum. La Cité Administrative de l'Etat en cartes & en question, 2004: available at Citymine(d) offices.
Micronomics scanning: DVD online soon.
Networkbook for Urban P/Arts. 42 initiatives capturing London's Public Space, 2004: available at Citymin(e)d offices.
Towards. Cartes Subjectives d'interventions Urbaines à Bruxelles // Subjectieve Kaarten van Stedelijke Internventies in Brussel: available at Citymine(d) offices.