Born in 1992 in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, Thales Zokéné is an actor, storyteller and director. He grew up surrounded by the stories and melodies of his griot grandmother, as well as the radio stories of Patrick Nguema Ndong on Africa N°1 and George Embana on Radio Congo.
These influences nourished his imagination and his love for storytelling. Aware of the threat to this oral tradition in the face of modernisation, he decided in 2018 to train with Abdon Fortuné Koumba and Ulrich N'Toyo. Unlike actors, who disappear behind a role, storytellers fully embody their stories: they are both narrator and character. He therefore makes each story his own, enriching it with rhythm, humour and popular wisdom to captivate his audience.
His stories, inspired by ancestral African traditions, and more particularly by Kongo culture, tackle a variety of subjects and are suitable for all audiences. Through his commitment, he works to preserve and renew the art of storytelling, thus perpetuating an ancestral cultural heritage.
He performs at festivals such as Rumeurs Urbaines, Pièces à emporter, 123 Contez, Visions d'exil, Histoires Communes and the Rencontres Internationales des Arts de la Parole et du Langage (RIAPL). He works with Dieudonné and Cris Niangouna, Hassan Kouyate, Marilyn Pape, Clauvice Ngoubili, Jean Felhyt Kimbirima and Hubert Colas (Jeef Koons as part of Africa 2020 and the SAHM workshops).
In France since 2021, he is a member of the Atelier des Artistes en Exil, with whom he performs at various events. He holds a Master's degree in Directing and Dramaturgy from the University of Nanterre and is currently working on À bouts de sueur by Hakim Bah.
Residency project:
The talking tree: tell me about your city
In African tradition, trees are places of speech and transmission. They bear witness to stories passed down from generation to generation. The project aims to restore this symbolic function to an imaginary tree, created by the inhabitants of a city, by collecting and recounting their memories and dreams.