Ever since childhood, Gloire has been told that her dark skin and frizzy hair are unattractive. So, as a teenager, she began “tchokote” (“to lighten the skin / to heat the skin” in Lingala) and decided to depigment her skin, convinced that she had to transform herself to be accepted, just like her idol Beyoncé.

In an intimate and humorous one-woman show that blends storytelling, dance, and music, Olivia Mabounga examines the way racialized bodies are viewed and the pressure that has shaped them for generations.

She deconstructs a system in which appearance is dictated by norms inherited from colonization and patriarchy, revealing the strength needed to break free from it and find one’s place.

This play was selected by our Programming Committee.

Teaser for the show TCHOKO