Noumec, for Nouveau Mécanisme culturel et communautaire (New cultural and community mechanism), is a Senegalese theatre company based in Ziguinchor. Founded in 2010 as an extension of the activities set up by La Maison des Enfants de Ziguinchor, a cultural centre in the Niéfoulène neighbourhood, Noumec has since been striving to become more professional and to share its passion for theatre throughout the Casamance region. Winner of a prize at Fesnac (Festival National des Arts et de la Culture) in 2015, and of the Prix de la culture awarded by the Ziguinchor departmental council in 2016, it has established itself as one of the region’s major cultural players.
In March 2022, Noumec took up residency at the Banjul Alliance for the first time, directing and performing two plays in collaboration with local schools and actors. This first experience, appreciated by all, led to a second collaboration. For its second residency at the Alliance, five members of Noumec stayed at the Musa Ngum artists’ house: Senegalese actors Petit Sambou, Babacar Gadji and Atia Coly, Senegalese director Ibrahima Fainke, and Franco-Chilean set designer Anne-Laure Jullian de la Fuente.
This artistic residency enabled the creation of an original staging of the play 7 billion neighbours, written by the Beninese Giovanni Houansou, with a view to a public performance at the Théâtre de Verdure at the end of their stay in Banjul. The first two weeks of the residency were mainly spent thinking about the play and learning the script. This enabled Noumec to get to grips with the work and determine the artistic direction they wanted to take in the production. The rest of the residency consisted of numerous rehearsals at the theatre. Working with the Alliance’s technical team, developing the set design and making adjustments, the five artists prepared intensively for the performance at the end of the residency.
The inclusion of local artists in this project, the sharing of skills, and the commitment to interculturality led Noumec to work closely with Mam Demba, President of the Gambia Union of Theatre (GAMUT) in the staging of the play. They also gave a role in the play to Gambian musician Pa Dembo, who attended many of the rehearsal sessions. Finally, Noumec took advantage of its presence in Banjul to give a workshop to the members of GAMUT, in order to pass on their skills and share their project with the local scene.