ABSTRACT
That Benin was considered, in the not so distant past, as Africa's 'Latin Quarter', is true and needs no explanation-intellectuals and politicians from both Africa and the West know it well. Benin is equally known for its national 'Vodoun'. But Benin is less known for the diversity of its cultural and artistic expression, particularly in the domain of theatre. Although the birth of the Benin International Theatre Festival, FITHEB, has since 1991 permitted the beginning of a discovery of our country's theatre by our African neighbours, this opening on to the African cultural world has remained a limited one, in the sense that the festival takes place only every two years, and does not take Benin's theatre beyond the country's frontiers. The fifth festival will take place in March 2000, with its new dynamic bringing it into contact with new worlds. Its distinction is that it takes place in one town, whereas FITHEB circulates in five different ones.
