LA PLUS SECRÈTE MÉMOIRE DES HOMMES

Following the Trail of Words

Aristide Tarnagda and Odile Sankara, two towering voices of contemporary Burkinabe theatre, deliver a theatrical reading of Mohamed Mbougar Sarr’s novel La plus secrète mémoire des hommes. A veritable literary odyssey revolving around a myriad of stories, this gripping work spans a century and three continents. From Senegal to France via Argentina, the winner of the most recent Prix Goncourt addresses the authenticity and power of literature with biting wit.

The young Senegalese author’s literary investigation inspired the duo in charge of Les Récréâtrales in Ouagadougou, one of the major theatre festival in West Africa and a hub for contemporary French-language writing from across the African continent. Through its complexity, its narrative energy, and its questions around of the transmission of knowledge in a global context, Sarr’s profoundly human novel unsettles the traditional opposition of Africa and the West.

Produced by Association Récréâtrales
Written by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr
Adaptation Aristide Tarnagda
Mise en lecture et interprétation Aristide Tarnagda + Odile Sankara
Coproduction Festival TransAmériques + Théâtre Acclamations
Produced by Association Récréâtrales
Written by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr (Éditions Philippe Rey, 2021)
Adapted by Aristide Tarnagda
Directed and performed by Aristide Tarnagda + Odile Sankara
Co-produced by Festival TransAmériques + Théâtre Acclamations
Presented in association with Monument-National
World première
Written by Ralph Elawani
Translated by David Dalgleish