Le demande d’asile [15.08, Gland]

A powerful dance-theatre duet, La demande d’asile (The Asylum Application) shines a spotlight on the rigid protocols that structure France’s asylum process, overseen by Ofpra (the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons). Because the credibility of each applicant’s account can determine the outcome, support groups help individuals prepare for their official interview. Still, recounting trauma in front of officials remains an intense physical and emotional ordeal. This is all the more harrowing for LGBTQIA+ individuals: how do you put into words an identity kept hidden for so long? How do you speak of love? With La demande d’asile, Nicolas Barry exposes the cold, procedural logic of a system that often feels more like a criminal investigation than a gesture of refuge. Using the language of theatre, he choreographs the tense exchange between an Ofpra agent and a woman seeking asylum on the grounds of her sexual orientation. Their bodies spiral as do the sharp, repeated and increasingly suspicious questions. What unfolds teeters on the edge of absurdity. Until perhaps, the story takes another unexpected turn?

Description in FALC