Nuit des idées 2022: Noundji Brings “Life” To Yaounde Audience

It was a one-man command performance of Cameroonian stories, and some proverbs - mostly from oral tradition. By veteran Cameroonian theatre actor, stage director, storyteller…, David Noundji. The presentation on Friday, January 28, 2022 in the French Institute of Cameroon, IFC Yaounde, was part of a week-long celebration dubbed, “La nuit des idées.”  
There were enthralling chants by the actor/storyteller in different languages; all engaging the audience like: “A big person is not a small person!” There were also chants the performer did alone, but with copious use of dance, mime, rhyme, quiz, ringing of a little bell, laugher, and other gestures. One of the themes was, “Never be deceived by appearance!” While an interesting proverb from the show was, “A woman’s smile belongs to her lover, but her corpse belongs to the husband.”
There was the story of a woman who grieved inconsolably after losing her beloved husband. She threatened to bury herself with the husband. But when a deafening thunderbolt struck, all mourners – including the widow – fled the house, abandoning the corpse behind. She was however held back by a nail on the door as she kept screaming, “Let me go! Let me go! I don’t want to die with you!”
 “To stage such a performance, I need at least 8 months to prepare! The first thing to do is to look for the stories, m...