Le Retour de Bougouniéré brings back the main character of a "classic" of modern koteba theatre created about twelve years ago by Diarrah Sanogo within the National Theatre of Mali, a young maid from Bamako who eventually marries her boss.

In Le retour de Bougouniéré, the young woman has been repudiated. She meets the director of an NGO who takes her to France, where after mixed fortunes, working as a cook in a hostel and finally winning on the TV game show, "The Millionaire", she decides to return home.

In Bamako, she finds her daughter Fatou again. Fatou, whose father is unknown, is tormented by her search for her identity. As for Bougouniéré's childhood friend, Djéliba, a griot (poet-musician) in whose care Fatou was left, he is in conflict with the young rapper who is courting her: conflict of generations, conflict of cultural references.

With mischievous wisdom, the Kotefa, or the "father of the kote", a sort of ritual "director" of the koteba, tries to smooth over the relationships as best he can … and the performance. An often jubilatory, sometimes serious crossing of today's Bamako, its hopes, its absurdities, its tragedies, seen through the fate of ordinary people who are not easily fooled.


The characters

Bougouniéré
Mother of a "bastard", formerly a maid, Bougouniéré now wants to find a place in polite society. But on her return from Europe, she has difficulty recognizing the Bamako she knew before, she is out of step in her views of her society. She secretly pursues her childhood dreams of founding a family and making music.

Djéliba
Djéliba, a griot (poet-musician), has always been in love with Bougouniéré, and has been waiting for her. During her absence, he took care of Fatou, Bougouniéré's daughter, whom he brought up as his own child. Djéliba is torn between his liking for young people and his role as the "head of the family", respectful of traditions. As a griot, he is very keen on classical mandingo music, and believes that he is defending it in the face of attacks from urban music.

Fatou
Fatou, Bougouniéré's daughter, is hypersensitive. She cannot cope with her situation as a "bastard" who doesn't know her father. Fortunately, there is King, a young rapper, with whom she is in love.

King
King, Fatou's suitor, is a young rapper whose anti-conformist ways annoy Bougouniéré considerably. She had been dreaming of a nice, well-dressed young man for her daughter. She discovers a hip hop suitor.

Kotèfa
The Kotefa is the main character of the koteba who makes sure it runs smoothly. In Le Retour de Bougouniéré, he is a mischievous but reasonable character who succeeds in easing tensions. One foot in the world of the characters, another in directing the performance, he reminds us at every instant that we are at the theatre, that is, at the same time at a performance and deep within our own hearts.

Laughter and social satire are the mainsprings of koteba theatre, a form of dramatic art peculiar to Western Africa. The word "koteba" means "big snail" in the bamanan language. It suggests the circle formed by the crowd around the performance and thus highlights the very particular, highly interactive relationship these artists have with their audience. In the middle of the 1980's, young actors and dramatists revived the koteba by taking it from the village to the stage. It was enormously successful. However, since then, companies have fragmented, and playlets of social intervention have tended to overtake artistic theatre. After the success of Antigone at the Mandéka Theatre, Malian actors have returned to the roots of Mandingo comedy by creating the conditions to raise demands and quality, and to open to an international audience. The play makes use of the mainsprings of koteba: self-mockery, "ordinary people" being highlighted compared to "settled" society, and denunciation of society's defects. They also include a pronounced musical aspect. The actors hired are singers, musicians or dancers, in many varied styles, both on the level of the instruments and the genres. The confrontation between traditional griotic music and the hip hop culture which is spreading among young people is an important element in the argument.

The koteba used to be performed in villages with the minimum of means. It consisted of a generally annual session of catharsis, where the abuses and foibles of all and sundry was played out. The kotefa (father of the kote) directed the performances closely related to social life. The staging throws itself into this tradition. It has adapted the genre for the urbanised public of contemporary Mali, using a stage setting which enables it to be adapted to any auditorium, while retaining the critical intensity of a direct relationship with the audience.

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