Komi XIV

Anta Recke first encountered Komi Amado in 2011, when he delivered a rhapsodic monologue on the neocolonial dynamics of European African cultural production from the perspective of a child in Christoph Schlingensief's theatrical opera Via Intolleranza II. Invited to the Berliner Theatertreffen, the production explored the contradictions and colonial fault lines surrounding the creation of Schlingensief’s project Operndorf Afrika. As part of Spätschicht, Recke and Amado reunite at Gropius Bau and, together with theatre maker Wenceslas Balima, develop a new monologue.

Komi Amado (stage-name Vieux-Père) is an actor and comedian from Burkina Faso. He has appeared in numerous film and theatre productions, including Les Nouveaux Habits de l’Empereur (The Emperor’s New Clothes) and William Shakespeare’s La Tempête (The Tempest). Today, Amado lives in Versailles, where he works as an actor and entrepreneur, while also advocating for the rights and interest of people with dwarfism in Burkina Faso. His personal story inspired the documentary Vieux-Père (2024) by Marine de Royer.

Anta Recke is a director, dramaturge, conceptual artist, and author. Her productions Mittelreich and Die Kränkungen der Menschheit were invited to the Berlin Theatertreffen. In 2021, she directed the world premiere of the stage adaptation of Olivia Wenzel’s debut novel 1000 Serpentinen Angst at the Maxim Gorki Theater. She is also co-founder and co-director of the German Museum for Black Entertainment and Black Music.