On 21 November, Birth Spaces, a performance created by anthropologist Pascale Hancart Petitet and theatre director Thiane Khamvongsa, was presented at the Fanglao BlackBox choreographic center in Vientiane.
The show, which combined theatre, dance, and live music, shared the stories of women giving birth in remote areas where healthcare is limited and cultural traditions are strong.
The event attracted 150 people from Laos and around the world.
Birth Spaces focused on the strength of these mothers and the challenges they face, such as the decline of traditional midwives in rural areas. It also raised questions about motherhood, culture, and power.
“This play aspires to give a voice to these women outside their immediate village setting, so that these voices and these stories travel outside of this space and time” said director Thiane Khamvongsa. “The central idea of the staging is to interpret, through theater and dancing, the testimonies obtained during the ethnologic research, and so to recount the cultural heritage of which these practices result and address the dynamics of social relations and power relations within the village.”
This collaboration aims to be a new means to share the results of scientific research with a broader audience, beyond just academic readers.
This is the second time that Lao-French director Thiane Khamvongsa, a Knight of the Order of the Arts and Letters, has created a choreographed theatre performance based on the work of PhD anthropologist Pascale Hancart Petitet.
Their previous project, Live with It, created five years ago, focused on research by the Institute of Research and Development and the University of Health Sciences of Laos. It addressed the social and health challenges faced by migrant workers living with HIV in Laos and toured across the country.
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“Birth Spaces”, directed by Thiane Khamvongsa and based on the work of Pascale Hancart Petitet, is choreographed by Noutnapha Soydala, and performed by actors and dancers Violette Eeckhout, Thatsanyvanh Louanglath, Noutnapha Soydala, Thiane Khamvongsa and Viengnakhone Xayasone, accompanied by musicians Sinthavong Sengmounthong and Khampanya Lastvong.
This production was supported by the Fondation Pierre Fabre, AUF-Laos, Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), and Expertise France. “Birth Spaces” will reprise in Vientiane and tour in Luang Prabang, Savannakhet and Pakse in April 2025.
