Albert Likeke Mongita, also known as Mongita Likeke (1916—1985) was an actor, dramatist, painter, filmmaker and theatre director from the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. Mongita was "one of the leaders of the national theatre movement in the decades after World War II".

Life

Albert Mongita was born on 8 March 1916 at Irebu in

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

. When he was one year old, he came to

Léopoldville Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one of ...

(now Kinshasa). After six years in primary school and two years in a professional school, he attended the middle school St. Joseph's Institute for five years. Staying on to teach for five more years, he left to work for the post administration. In 1949 he joined Radio Congo Belge as an editor and announcer. Janheinz Jahn, ''Who's Who in African Literature'', 1972, pp.233-4. After writing several sketches, he became interested in theatre. Mongita joined the Alumni Association of the Fathers of Scheuts (ADAPES) in Léopoldville in the early 1950s, later becoming its theatrical driving force. With André Scohy, Mongita organized several national popular theatre festivals, and tours to Léopoldville by foreign theatre groups. Mongito write several plays in French for his theatre group, La ligue folklorique congolaise. ''Soko Stanley te'' was performed in Léopoldville in 1954, on the fiftieth anniversary of Henry Morton Stanley's death. ''Lifoco'' was performed before the

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

, Léo Pétillon in 1955. At the start of the 1950s a Congolese cine-club was established in Léopoldville, and under Belgian instruction Mongita helped to shoot ''La Leçon de Cinéma'' (The Film Lesson) in 1951. Most of the club's Congolese members did not make films after

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

, suggesting that their training had not been thorough, though Mongito did make one documentary in 1963.

Works

Plays

* ''Mangengenge'', published in mimeographed form, 1956 * ''Soki Stanley, La Quinzaine'', 1957 * ''Ngombe'', published serially in ''Présence Congolaise'', 1964

Films

* (with other students) ''La Leçon de Cinéma'' he Film Lesson 1951 * ''Les tams-tams du Congo'', 1963

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mongita, Albert 1916 births 1985 deaths Democratic Republic of the Congo actors Democratic Republic of the Congo dramatists and playwrights Democratic Republic of the Congo film directors Democratic Republic of the Congo painters