Director Ousmane Aledji was born in Benin on August 12, 1970 and today is an author, poet and dramaturge. In 1993 he founded the Agbo-N’Koko theater company in Cotonou, Benin. Since 1995, Aledji has been the chairman of the Association of Beninese Dramaturges and the editor of the art magazine ARTISTTIK-AFRICA. His stagings are marked by a distinctively impressive, forthright and unruly style. Aledji has already written and directed more than 18 plays and there is no denying that he is one of the most productive and exciting dramaturges of West Africa. In 1995, he was awarded first prize of the Francophonie for the play „Amour et sang“. For his play „L’âme où j’ai mal ou ici la vie est belle“ he received a scholarship in Limoges in 2000.

Aledji and his company were in Germany at the theatre festival „Theaterlandschaften“ in Mühlheim an der Ruhr in 2008 and 2009. In 2008, his production „Omon mi“ (“My Child”) was received with great enthusiasm. WELT online hailed „Omon mi“ as one of the most important productions in West African contemporary theatre. In 2009, Aledji premiered „Est-ce ainsi que vivent les hommes?“ (“Is that really how people live?”) and „Pourissement“ (“Rottenness”). The former broached the 2006 toxic waste scandal in Ivory Coast. „Pourissement“ and investigated the extent to which power changes people. Both were co-productions with the Theater an der Ruhr. In 2010, he and his theatre company will present the World Premiere of „Traumata – Traumatismes“ at Haus der Kulturen der Welt.