Former director of Alliance Française Dominica dies suddenly

Former director of the Alliance Française Dominica has died suddenly according to reports in the French media.

Jose Pliya, originally from the African country of Benin, has been described as a man who had a unique relationship with the Caribbean and who has played an essential role in placing Dominica on the theatrical map.

He died suddenly on Saturday, April 12 during a visit to Miami, United States. He was 58.

A renowned writer and playwright, Pliya was born in Cotonou, Benin on April 17, 1966,

His love affair with the Caribbean began when he was appointed director of the Alliance Française de la Dominique in 1998. Upon his arrival in Dominica, he noticed a void in live shows and he started a weekly workshop for theatrical expression where actors and actresses, who were interested in performing or who wanted to come on stage to showcase
their achievements, were invited.

Within a year, a group of 15 adult actors was formed and their first production “L’Anglais tel qu’on le parle” (English as spoken), by Tristan Bernard, was produced.

In the following years, trainers from the French islands and some as far as Paris joined his team in Dominica. After that Dominican actors were invited to perform in Guadeloupe, Martinique, Cuba, and countries that stage theatrical performances.

In September 1998, one year after taking office in Dominica, he participated in the preparation of the second edition of the now-famous World Creole Music Festival.

While in Dominica, Pliya also created the “Festival de Cinéma et des Arts Visuels Noir Tout Couleurs à la Dominique.”

According to the French newspaper, Guadeloupe La 1ère, Pliya “worked to highlight Creole culture and arts and helped strengthen cultural ties between different Caribbean islands.”

“In August 2003, he founded ETC_Caraïbe, an association whose goal was to promote theatrical writing from this part of the world,” the newspaper reported. “He served as its artistic director until 2004. In September of the same year, he was appointed Academic Delegate for Arts and Culture at the Martinique Rectorate, responsible for artistic education throughout the Academy. Then, from 2005 to 2015, he was appointed General Director of Artchipel, the national stage of Guadeloupe, where he led two artistic projects: ‘New Stage Writings” and “Current Mythologies of Guadeloupe.”

He was made a Knight of Arts and Letters, an order of France, in 2022.