Paris was a Woman

In Paris was a Woman, Bibi van Lieshout and Khalid Koujili El Yakoubi celebrate the underexposed queer history of Paris and of themselves. Set in the 1920s, they find brave women like Djuna Barnes, Gisèle Freund and Ada ‘Bricktop’ Smith unconventionally choosing love and art in their time. The makers take inspiration from the Parisian 1950s based on the photo book Les amies de place Blanche by Christer Strömholm, who made intimate portraits of transfeminine people. Bibi and Khalid question the fragility of our fought-for freedoms by dancing Parisian nightlife back to life. In an ode to these pioneers, they also celebrate their own queer existence above all else, transforming as fluid butterflies of the night.

• Khalid Koujili El Yakoubi (he/him) is an actor and theater maker. He graduated from KASK Ghent with the performance Don't make it about you, in which he goes in search of the representation of 'the other' in Western theatre. Khalid was part of the Montignards#5 and played for others in Vlaemsch (Chez Moi) by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.

• Bibi van Lieshout (she/her) is an actress and theater maker. She studied at the Koningstheateracademie in 's Hertogenbosch (NL) and graduated from RITCS in Brussels in 2020. She has since worked as a maker and performer for various theaters such as Bronks, Theater Antigone, hetpaleis and Théâtre L'Aria (Corsica).