Fiction, reality and witchcraft: Jessica Fanhan tells us about "Belle Dame"
From 28 September to 7 October at Studio Varia
Interview by Sophie Thomine on 31 August 2023
This is your first show; what made you want to do it?
I’ve actually wanted to do this project for years. To tell a story about my origins, my roots, to create my own images, to share my imagination...
It was already very much present in the work I was doing at school (editor’s note: drama school), for example. The desire was already there. But it took me a while before I felt ready and confident enough to create this piece. My own creation.
I censored myself a lot, though, because I felt that the subject of identity was something people expected of me, especially for a first project. But it was inevitable; it is a first project and I had to go through that.
Tell us about the show’s subtitle, ‘From ignorance to knowledge’?
First and foremost, it’s important to say that I started the show with this subtitle in mind. The title Belle Dame came to me shortly afterwards. This subtitle is very much linked to my personal history. I arrived in Belgium when I was a year and a half old; I was born in Guadeloupe, and my roots are there. I know some family stories. But that’s almost all. In terms of personal experience, I know very little about Guadeloupe. I’ve been there twice.
I don’t know my father, nor really my grandmother; I have lots of cousins, uncles and aunts whom I’ve barely met. The lack of knowledge began within my own family. The story behind this work is therefore that of a journey of discovery towards understanding.
"To believe in myself rather than in some entity beyond my grasp"
How much of your show is fiction and how much is reality?
I mix the two quite a lot. That fine line between reality and fiction is something that has always fascinated me.
Even in everyday life, I think a lot about what we forget, what we adapt, what we reinvent when we recount a memory, for example. We spend our time doing that, transforming reality. Drawing on our imaginations.
Belle Dame is the reinvention of my story through the imagination.
There’s a large element of fiction, although it also reflects the ambiguity I myself feel about what I’ve written, since I’m talking about real, personal events.
The figure of the witch features heavily in your show...
Well, you should know that I’ve always been a fan of that sort of world! When I was a child, I used to drag my mother along to esoteric fairs about witches, magic, and so on... And then I was brought up in a family of Guadeloupean origin; there are still lots of beliefs, superstitions, things ‘you can do’ and ‘things you mustn’t do’...
I actually talk about this in the show; I recount, in particular, this anecdote where, as a child, I told my mum I’d heard a knock at the door and she replied, ‘Ooh! Be careful, don’t answer that... It might be zombies!’ Anyway, that’s part of who I am, and even though as we grow up we don’t really believe in it anymore, it obviously stays with us.
And then, as we become adults, we also come to terms with this figure in a different way.
At a certain point, I wanted to stop giving power to others; to those voices, those spirits, those beliefs; and to put my faith in myself. Believing in myself rather than in some entity beyond my control. That’s the figure we know today: the image of the empowered woman.
You’re co-directing this show with Fatou Traoré; tell us about this collaboration.
I didn’t dare ask her at first; I was afraid. But then I took the plunge, and the next day she was at my place and we started working.
Fatou is exactly the person I needed to support me on this project. She understands everything I’m trying to convey. And very quickly, I wanted her to co-direct with me. I write, I act, and I was keen to direct as well, but I needed an extra pair of hands to support me at that stage of the creative process.
Tell us about the role of music in your show.
At first, my dream was to have musicians on stage. But as I worked on it, things evolved, and now there’s a musician who composes the music but isn’t on stage with me: Dorian Baste. I’m discovering the world of musical composition. It’s producing some very interesting results! The sound and music design are closely intertwined; it becomes very lively and organic. Sound and music seek ways to accompany the three different parts of the show: Belgium, Guadeloupe, and the parallel world. The past, the present and the future.
28.09—07.10.2023
BELLE DAME
(From ignorance to knowledge)
Jessica Fanhan