Baudouin Woehl & Daphné Biiga Nwanak

With a background in philosophy, Daphné Biiga Nwanak and Baudouin Woehl met at École du Théâtre National in Strasbourg and have worked together for the past seven years, mixing theatre with music and dance. Their work explores the writing of narratives and ways to transpose theoretical tools into performances, calling on images and emotions. Each piece is conceived as a window through which to experience the world with greater intensity. Maya Deren, their most recent project (2023), considers the possibility for a shared viewpoint in a fragmented world. Concomitantly, they gave a cycle of talks/performances on the history of emotions, postulating that theatre can reawaken forgotten emotions. Their debut documentary film is in post-production and they are currently preparing their next piece, Vasari (working title). In 2025 the Syndicat de la Critique awarded Daphné Biiga Nwanak its Prix de la Révélation Théâtrale (outstanding newcomer award).

Daphné Biiga Nwanak and Baudouin Woehl set out in search of the Goze – visually impaired women who worked as itinerant musicians, and whose story is embedded in the history of rural Japan. Part music, part theatre, their project considers how, over centuries, the Goze surpassed representations of disability by developing their own form of self-expression. This paves the way for representations of other minorities of which the Goze were also a part, such as women, the economically vulnerable, rural dwellers, etc., inviting dialogue between tradition and questions relating to the contemporary scene. During their residency, Daphné Biiga Nwanak and Baudouin Woehl will consult archives and meet artists with disabilities, education specialists and academics afin de saisir les coordonnées sensibles avec lesquelles se produisaient les Goze. Alongside this, they will work on an interdisciplinary performative medium that will translate this shared perception in a spectacular format that will emphasise senses other than the visual.