Theatre by Senegalese street children in Amsterdam

July 2003 -

The play Enfants de Nuit (Children of the Night) had a significant impact during the annual Holland Festival in Amsterdam. Under the direction of Frenchman Jean Michel Bruyère Senegalese street children created a production that gives the spectators a glimpse into the lives of homeless children. The public had to enter a dark maze in small groups with a flashlight and once inside came face to face with the tragic and poetic side of the lives of the homeless.

Together with the writer Oumar Sall, Bruyère has set up a shelter in Dakar (Man-Keneen-Ki: I, the other) where street children can get training in the arts. They have lessons in theatre, circus, film, photography, writing, sculpting and acting. Bruyère believes that everyone has the right to artistic expression, even children on the fringes of society. He wants to use this training to rescue these children from their hopeless situation and offer them some prospect for the future. Bruyère is the founder of La Fabriks, an international artistic action group.