The Compagnie du Grand Carbet will present the new play by Franck Salin, also known as “Frankito”, titled “L’extraordinaire et véritable histoire de Papa Yaya” (The extraordinary and true story of Papa Yaya), on October 2, 3, 9, 10, and 11, 2026, at the Auguste Théâtre in Paris’s 11th arrondissement.
This time, Guadeloupean journalist, writer, director, and playwright has decided to tackle a highly controversial figure who has left his mark, particularly in the archipelago’s politics and education. “Papa Yaya”, whose real name was Gérard Lauriette, passed away on August 17, 2006, at the age of 84; Franck Salin’s play premieres twenty years after his death. Actor Yohann Pisiou will have the daunting task of bringing back to life the character on stage. The author relied on Gérard Lauriette’s works and correspondence to deliver to the audience a faithful picture of this man, considered a brilliant mind and a visionary by his supporters and a rebel and a fool by his detractors.
“L’extraordinaire et véritable histoire de Papa Yaya” will soon be performed in Guadeloupe.
Presentation: Paris, Winter 1967. Locked up in La Santé Prison, far from his native Guadeloupe, Papa Yaya rails against his judges and proclaims his innocence. Will he manage to convince them that he is not the dangerous madman they accused him of being? Through a thrilling, funny, and irreverent narrative, Gérard Lauriette aka Papa Yaya reveals his life as a rebellious schoolteacher, a pioneer of Creole-language education, a nonconformist philosopher, an independence activist, a political prisoner, an inexhaustible joker, and a tireless freethinker.
Tickets are available on Billetreduc: https://www.billetreduc.com/spectacle/l-extraordinaire-et-veritable-histoire-de-papa-yaya-414695 and Ticketac: https://www.ticketac.com/spectacles/lextraordinaire-et-veritable-histoire-de-papa-yaya
