Gintersdorfer & Klassen: a look at Ivory Coast

(© Knut Klassen)

Two German artists who have a thing about the Ivory Coast combine their talents in a weekend of coupé-décalé festivities and fascinating shows that take a look at politics and the International Criminal Court in The Hague, among other things.

The End of the Western, Desist III, The International Criminal Court, La Jet Set: that’s the strange programme on offer from the duo formed by the director Monika Gintersdorfer and the visual artist Knut Klassen. More or less unknown in Belgium, the two German artists were guests of the Kaaitheater in 2010. They pay frequent visits to Ivory Coast and have developed a number of collaborations with Ivorian artists, including singers, dancers, and local showbiz stars. Their style is at once festive and political and well worth checking out. We spoke with Monika Gintersdorfer, who plays a key role in these Afro-German adventures.

What a strange programme…
Monika Gintersdorfer: We have put this weekend together like a little festival, including more political shows like The End of the Western, which deals with the six months of post-electoral crisis in Ivory Coast between the two presidential candidates, Gbagbo and Ouattara – with, on the side, events like a concert and a DJ evening, providing opportunities for the artists and the public to meet.

How did you get interested in Ivory Coast?
Gintersdorfer: Ten years ago I saw a show of coupé-décalé, a style of music and dance and a whole philosophy of life, which I really liked. It’s an art of nightclubs, where people give themselves famous nicknames, calling themselves President or Versace. There’s a basis for theatre in that. The show entitled La Jet Set was inspired by the name of a group of Ivorian stars based in Paris who launched coupé-décalé. They have a great rhetorical talent that I was keen to make use of.

How do you work?
Gintersdorfer: I suggest a subject and the direction; Knut comes up with a set design, which is often minimalist. We concentrate on the actors, the singers, and the subject matter. The show draws its strength from the onstage presence.

Is yours a kind of “agitprop” (agitation and propaganda) political theatre?
Gintersdorfer: Not at all! The shows deal with political issues by playing with different points of view. It’s not about presenting a unique truth, but about indicating how complex things are. Moreover, not all the shows are political. Desist III is a mocking choreography about the lives of three performers. In the show about the International Criminal Court in The Hague, we wanted not only to show how the Court works, but also to talk about the situation in the Congo, the arrest of the former Ivorian president Gbagbo, the trials that have finished, and those still under way.

Talking about politics in Africa, does that not get you into any trouble?
Gintersdorfer: Not so far. We try to talk freely, without thinking about whether the subject matter or the show is going to disturb people.

There is a risk people may not understand your “Ivorian” shows…
Gintersdorfer: If Germans and Austrians managed to understand them – and they have a much more distant relationship with Africa than Belgium has – then these are shows that can cross frontiers.

Monika Gintersdorfer & Knut Klassen • 9 & 10/11 (+ party), 19.00, €12/16, FR & EN, Kaaistudio’s, Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Vaakstraat 81 rue Notre-Dame du Sommeil, Brussel/Bruxelles, 02-201.59.59, www.kaaitheater.be