Festival faraway / Matrices

Matrices
Text and Direction: Daniely Francisque

%B7 Martinique %B7 Faraway Festival 2027

How have women’s wombs in the Caribbean been shaped by history and its violence? Drawing on a personal tragedy, this performance tells the story of a dreamlike exploration of the pain embedded in the body.

Facing the sea, a woman seeks to understand what is troubling her womb. She reflects on her youth and a recent intimate wound: the loss of her child. Through multiple fragments—like pieces of a puzzle to be put together—the writer and director Daniely Francisque explores the spectres awakenedby this wound in her existence and questions the transgenerational legacy of colonial violence. With a minimalist staging, *Matrices* blends Creole and French to recount the ancestral memory passed down through the wombs of women of the same lineage, seeking—in a territory haunted by the history of slavery—to explore the political dimensions of childbirth and motherhood, and envisioning, for the future, a utopia of renewal.

A statement by the author and director:
“The play is conceived as a healing ritual. We wander through fragments of a woman’s life, from dream to revelation, traversing her witch-like nights.” %BB
Daniely Francisque

Dates:
Tuesday, January 26, 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, January 27, 8:00 p.m.
Venue: Comédie (Main Hall), Chaussée Bocquaine, Esplanade Malraux, Reims
Audience: Not recommended for children under 15
Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Additional info: Performance in French and Creole with subtitles

Warning for sensitive viewers: Some scenes may be disturbing to some audience members (explicit sexual violence).