Il teatro di José Pliya tra erranza, identità e complessità dell'essere umano

Abstract

One of the most successful and appreciated playwrights in the contemporary Francophone world is José Pliva, a French-language writer of Beninese origin. "Auteur du Tout-monde", as he likes to be known, he writes to express his feelings and his inner vision of the world, and to investigate the evil and the violence that call out to be addressed. His interest centres on human beings and their complexities and sufferings, transcending geographical borders. As we shall see in this contribution, Pliya's characters live from conflict – personal, inner conflict against a backdrop of external, collective conflict (world wars, Rwandan genocide, etc.). Le Complexe de Thénardier and Une famille ordinaire are two of his most representative works in this regard. With Lettres à l'humanité, a voice is given to those who are normally unheard – be they colonised peoples, pieds-noirs, sans papiers or banlieusards – men and women caught between two lands, two continents, who aspire to change their lives and find happiness.