Désobéir

Four determined young women have at a black wall to urgently inscribe this word as a rallying cry: “Disobey”. One after the other and then together, with a powerful voice, they describe their daily lives. With their stories and with dancing, they wrench “breaths of freedom” from the various oppressive systems: traditions, religion, men and family.

The play is the result of interviews Julie Berès, Kevin Keiss and Alice Zeniter conducted with immigrant women – from Kabylia, Iran, Turkey and Cameroon. A meticulous work, enriched by the actors’ own words, to take stock of their admissions, their memories and their ambivalences. From this kaleidoscope of yearnings, but also of rebellions against machismo and racism they raised a fundamental question: how to invent oneself or re-invent oneself as a woman beyond social or cultural determinism?

The strength of the bodies and the realism of the stories reveal an intimate history, that of needing to refuse certain legacies to better explore one’s dreams. A flamboyant chorus that probes the universality of the feminine through stories vibrant with authenticity.