Congo Square (OUTDOORS)
Congo Square is one of the most hallowed sites in American music history. This area, once a grassy commons behind the original city rampart (now Rampart Street), was one of several gathering places for enslaved people from Africa and their descendants. In the 1700s, under French and Spanish colonial rule, slaves were permitted to buy and sell goods on Sundays. They also played African-style musical instruments and performed dances that originated from their native homes. After New Orleans became part of the United States in the early 1800s, a city ordinance limited gatherings of slaves to this spot, and only until sunset. Still, the weekly ritual sustained a continuum of African culture in the New World, with profound implications for the future of music.
Upcoming Shows
Voices in the Dark Repertory Theatre Company presents its Inaugural Premiere of New Orleans’ first outdoor historical drama, - “Le Code Noir” (The Black Code).
Twenty-seven years in the making, “Le Code Noir” was written by the late Mark R. Sumner (Director Emeritus of the Institute of Outdoor Drama) and award-winning producer /director Tommye Myrick. The drama takes its name from “Code Noir, " an edict issued and written by King Louis XIV of France in 1685. Its 48 articles laid down rules for governing the enslaved and the Free People of Color and ordered the expulsion of the Jewish population from France's colonies in the Western Hemisphere. The Code remained in effect until Emancipation in the early 1860s. Based on historical events that explore themes centered on regional and national figures, customs, and traditions firmly rooted in facts, “Le Code Noir” chronicles the 30-year saga of a 17-year-old enslaved African girl who arrived at the port of New Orleans in 1794.
With an ethnically mixed cast of more than 50 performing artists, including actors, singers, dancers, and musicians, Voices in the Dark Repertory Theatre Company collaborates with Givonna Joseph and OperaCreole, the Kai Knight Dance Ensemble, and world-renowned percussionist and musical arranger, Bill Summers, to bring the authentic sounds of Congo Square to life.
