In his solo piece De ce côté, Congolese author, actor, and director Dieudonné Niangouna introduces us to Dido, a theatre-maker living in exile. Forced to flee his homeland after a bomb exploded during one of his performances, Dido was branded an enemy of the state—not because the perpetrators were ever identified, but because of his outspoken criticism of the regime and his commitment to politically charged theatre.
Dido left behind his family and audience. Now living in Europe, he is haunted by guilt. His days are marked by quarrels with former theatre colleagues and long, restless nights spent in the bar he bought on credit, where he now performs stand-up comedy. Unable to find a place on European stages, Dido wrestles with feelings of displacement. He wonders where he belongs in this unfamiliar world—what is his perspective, his voice, and who is his audience?
With melancholy, irony, and tenderness, Dido reflects on how theatre can still be made in today’s fractured, violent world.
Then, one day, a director arrives and offers him the lead in a new play: La fin de la colère (The End of Anger). The role becomes a turning point, allowing Dido to confront his past, face his inner demons, and reimagine what a politically engaged theatre might look like.
In this stark, frontally delivered monologue, Dieudonné Niangouna paints a portrait of a man caught between two worlds, whose eloquence disrupts power and defies the conventions of language itself. We encounter an actor who draws strength from the characters he inhabits. De ce côté | Diesseits invites the audience to consider the experience of foreignness in Europe through a diasporic lens.
(See also Theater im Depot, Dortmund, Jens Heitjohann)
TEXT, DIRECTOR AND ACTOR Dieudonné Niangouna | LIGHT DESIGN Laurent Vergnaud | VIDEO DESIGN Sean Hart | TECHNICAL MANAGEMENT Cléo Konongo and Laurent Vergnaud | TRANSLATION / SUBTITLING Isolde Schmitt | PRODUCTION Compagnie Les Bruits de la Rue, Jason Abajo, Irène Afker, Antoine Blesson | CO-PRODUCTION Théâtre des 13 vents – CDN de Montpellier | The company Les Bruits de la Rue is supported by the DRAC Île-de-France – Ministry of Culture