“Enfin libre, Désirada is the only theatrical adaptation authorized by Maryse Condé of one of her novels, Désirada published by Robert Laffont. Supported by the Guadeloupian association Wahé Création, this deeply moving work is a journey through silences and family transmissions, at the crossroads of literature, theater and music.
Women tell the story
“Enfin libre, Désirada” is directed by Nathaly Coualy and Fernando de Azevedo features Boston exile Marie-Noëlle, who seeks to understand her past by questioning her mother Reynalda and grandmother Nina. Why the silence surrounding her birth? What truth lies behind the abandonment, indifference and violence? Enfin libre, is the story of a quest for identity through three generations of women who are wounded but fiercely alive.
“Enfin libre, Désirada” will be performed in particular May 10, 2025 in Champigny-sur-Marne to mark the National Day for the Remembrance of Slavery, with the support the Fondation pour la Mémoire de l’Esclavage and the Agence Française de Développement..
An open-hearted staging
With a deliberately minimalist set design – a chair, an armchair, Chapman Stick by David Blamèble. The play focuses on the intensity of the performance, the closeness to the audience and the strength of the text. Music, slam, silences, confidences and rhythms follow one another in an intimate, unpretentious atmosphere.
“Enfin libre, Désirada” combines theater and music to embody to embody the voices of women in all their complexity, between wounds and hopes. Enfin libre, is not just an adaptation, it’s a scenic reinvention nourished by the strong relationship between Nathaly Coualy and the world of Maryse Condé.
Maryse Condé (1934-2024): the imprint of an independent Guadeloupean woman
Maryse Condé, née Maryse Liliane Appoline Boucolon born in Pointe-à-Pitre in 1934, is one of the leading figures in Caribbean and world literature. Journalist, professor and novelist, she has taught at Columbia University and co-founded the Center for Francophone Studies. Her works ( Ségou, Tituba witch…, La Vie scélérateetc.) explore colonial history, the black condition and diasporic memories.
Winner of numerous awards, including the Alternative Nobel Prize for Literature in 2018, she has left her mark on the memory of slavery, notably as the first president of the Committee for the Memory of Slavery. She passed away on April 2, 2024 in Gordes. A national tribute was paid to him on April 15, 2024 at the BnF.
“I will die a Guadeloupean. A Guadeloupean independentist.” – Maryse Condé
Wahé Création: an artistic voice for overseas France
Based in Saint-François in Guadeloupe, the association Wahé Création founded and artistically directed by Nathaly Coualy works to democratizing access to culture, the promotion of artistic diversity and the transmission of overseas cultural heritage. “Wahé” means ecstasy in Sanskrit, the symbol of life elevated by creation.
The association supports projects combining theater, music, well-being and self-expression. It organizes workshops, masterclasses and training courses led by professionals from the performing arts and disciplines of personal transformation (yoga, meditation, music therapy…).
With Enfin libre, Désirada, Wahé Création fulfills its mission: to give voice to the voices of the margins, the intimate and the collective in an artistic language rooted in West Indies reality and open to the world.
A multidisciplinary artistic team
Nathaly Coualy
Actress, author, director and founder of Wahé Création, she initiated the theatrical adaptation of Désirada. After a first version performed at the Festival Off d’Avignon 2022. Here, she interprets the three generations of women with strength, humor and intensity. Trained in both classical theater and the Actors Studio, she blends dramatic art and body awareness.
David Blamèble
A self-taught musician from Martinique, he plays the Chapman Stick, a rare instrument that fuses bass, guitar and percussion. Blamèble has accompanied such greats as Jacob Desvarieux and Dédé Saint-Prix, and is developing an original Caribbean approach to his instrument. His musical work gives the piece a unique sonic signature.
Tour 2025-2026
- May 10th, 2025 – Champigny-sur-Marne, salle Gérard-Philipe
- November 6, 2025 – Maubeuge, Le Manège
- December 6, 2025 – Chaville, L’Atrium
Information and booking
- Telephone number: 01 45 16 40 00.
- Prices: from €6 to €14
- Booking link : Online ticketing
A powerful work to pass on
Enfin libre, Désirada is more than a tribute: it’s a necessary a necessary work which brings Maryse Condé’s voice to the stage. She questions family silences, colonial wounds and the construction of the self. She speaks to women, men, the young, the old, to all those who carry within them a freedom yet to be conquered.
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