''Une saison au Congo'' (, ''A Season in the Congo'') is a 1966 theatre play by

Aimé Césaire Aimé Fernand David Césaire (; ; 26 June 1913 – 17 April 2008) was a French poet, author, and politician. He was "one of the founders of the Négritude movement in Francophone literature" and coined the word in French. He founded the Par ...

, first performed in March 1967 in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

by the Théâtre Vivant. In September of the same year, the play was produced at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

. It follows the political career of Patrice Lumumba, first

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

the Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, taking a deeply pessimistic view of his fate. The play depicts the last months of the life of Patrice Lumumba during the transition to independence of the

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 ...

marked by conflicts with the secession of Katanga, supported by the Belgian and broader Western interests. After its first performance in Belgium, the play was produced at the

in March 1967, then at the Théâtre de l'Est parisien by theatre director

Jean-Marie Serreau Jean-Marie Serreau (28 April 1915 – 22 May 1973) was a 20th-century French actor, theatre director and a former student of Charles Dullin. Serreau directed the in Paris during the 1950s-1960s and established the at in Vincennes in 1970. He c ...

on 4 October 1967. The play's most recent performance took place in the Théâtre national de la Colline in Paris in September 1989.

References

French plays 1966 plays Political plays Plays set in the Democratic Republic of Congo Plays set in the 1950s Plays set in the 1960s Plays based on real people Cultural depictions of Patrice Lumumba {{1960s-play-stub