At All Kosts

An acting ensemble rehearses for an upcoming theater festival. They rig up stage scenery and practice dialogue and set pieces in the middle of a residential area. But this is no ordinary theater setting, as evidenced by the armed guards at the entrance. Festival 4 Chemins is taking place in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. Gangs are active in the city; you can hear machine-gun fire in the distance.

Poverty, social unrest and natural disasters plague the country, and young progressive Haitians are leaving in droves. But these theater makers have chosen to stay—who else will hold the fort? “An act of resistance,” theater and festival director Guy Régis Jr. says. “It’s the last bastion for reflection, art and culture.”

In their performances, the artists give voice to the pain and struggles of the population. With this festival they want to offer a space for beauty and reflection among the chaos, whatever the cost. That’s why they stay, despite the machine-gun fire.