Yacine Benyacoub's 'La Décennie noire' Confronts Algeria's Dark Decade
Yacine Benyacoub, a Franco-Algerian director, has premiered a new play titled 'La Décennie noire,' examining the struggles of Algeria's civil conflict during the 1990s. Initially commissioned in 2005 to honor the 'Charte pour la Paix et la Réconciliation,' Benyacoub opted to incorporate his and others’ firsthand experiences. The work debuted as a reading on July 15, 2026, at the Avignon Festival, featuring a diverse cast, including Charline Ben Larbi and Clément Paul Lhuaire. The play received the Prix SACD de la dramaturgie francophone and is published by éditions Passage(s), also featured in the radio series 'Ça va, ça va le monde !'
Key facts
- Yacine Benyacoub created 'La Décennie noire', a play about Algeria's civil war in the 1990s.
- The play originated from a 2005 Algerian government commission to create a piece praising the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation.
- Benyacoub and his troupe refused the commission and staged their own truths about the period.
- The play was presented as a reading at the Avignon Festival on July 15, 2026.
- The cast includes Charline Ben Larbi, Clément Paul Lhuaire, Juliette Pi, Khalil Kabouche, Emmanuelle Grönvold, Aylal Saint-Cloment, Nicolas Derrien, and Yacine Benyacoub.
- Benyacoub was born in Bab El Oued and began his career in 2001 as assistant to M. Laïd Kabouche.
- He moved to Paris in 2012 and founded the company ALTER NATIF.
- 'La Décennie noire' won the Prix SACD de la dramaturgie francophone and is an international laureate of the Quartier des Autrices et des Auteurs QD2A-TQI.
- The text is published by éditions Passage(s).
- The play is part of the radio cycle 'Ça va, ça va le monde !' coordinated by Pascal Paradou.
Entities
Artists
- Yacine Benyacoub
- Charline Ben Larbi
- Clément Paul Lhuaire
- Juliette Pi
- Khalil Kabouche
- Emmanuelle Grönvold
- Aylal Saint-Cloment
- Nicolas Derrien
- M. Laïd Kabouche
- Pascal Paradou
- Armel Roussel
- Jean-Paul Delore
- David Bobée
- Pascal Gely
- Alice Mesnard
- Nicolas Benita
- Benoît Goutorbe
- Benjamin Avayou
- Siegfried Forster
- Sonia Borelva
- Dominique Fiant
- Romain Ferré
Institutions
- RFI
- Compagnie [e]utopia
- Institut français
- SACD
- Wallonie-Bruxelles International
- L’École du Nord – École supérieure d’art dramatique
- éditions Passage(s)
- Quartier des Autrices et des Auteurs QD2A-TQI
- Avignon Festival
Locations
- Alger
- Algeria
- Paris
- France
- Bab El Oued
- Avignon