Marhaba Maghreb (Welcome Maghreb) is the UK’s first festival celebrating contemporary North
African theatre and dance. In the wake of the post-independence in the Arab World and ongoing
media focus on the region, ‘Marhaba Maghreb’ festival aims to give a voice to some of the most
important young North African artists who are exploring globally relevant issues whilst also defying
our preconceptions.
The festival will gather three distinct companies with artists from Algeria, Tunisia
and Egypt, in addition to a rich programme of accompanying events.
to the Night. This highly physical, stunningly fluid work for 12 Algerian male dancers combines
capoeira, martial arts, urban and contemporary dance with powerful imagery evocative of Orientalist
paintings and the stone filigree of Islamic architecture. With previous openings at the Bolshoi and New
York Ballet, we’re very proud to be the venue that premieres this remarkable project in London.
Other highlights of the festival include a physical theatre Plastic from award-winning Tunisian director
Meher Debbich Awachri, about young North Africans aspirations. This international co-production
with theatres and festivals in UK, Netherlands and Italy. The show exposesthe human conflict between
East and West, between those who think they are winners, and others who think they are losers. What
brings the young people together is the trade of empty plastic bottles.
Beri Juraic, Director of Sutton Theatres and Festival curator said: “As someone who has been working
and visiting North Africa regularly, I have been fascinated by the distorted image of the people and the
region in the Western media. By giving a platform to young artists from the region who are already
being recognised on the international stage, I wanted to show that that image should and must be
rectified.”
The festival also features Cie El-Ajouad’s debut with their 2013 Avignon Festival hit End/Ignified,
written by the controversial Algerian journalist Mustapha Benfodil about self-immolations which
started the Arab spring.
Marhaba Mahgreb is supported by Arts Council England and the French Institute.
Details
THE SECOMBE
21 November 2015, 7:30pm
Cie Herve Koubi (Algeria): What The Day Owes To The Night
(UK PREMIERE)
DANCE
A highly physical, stunningly fluid work for 12 Algerian male dancers that combines capoeira, martial
arts, urban and contemporary dance.
29 November 2015, 2:30pm & 8:00pm
Meher Awachri: Hamlet (based on the Arabic translation)
THEATRE
A physical theatre version of Hamlet. In an arts complex in one of the rough neighbourhoods of the Tunisian capital, four actors are rehearsing Hamlet. But why? What connection do they have with the issues raised by the play and with Hamlet himself? What pushes them to perform? Is there a need for their theatre?
THE CRYER
22 – 25 November 2015, 7:30pm
Meher Awachri: Plastic
(UK PREMIERE) – DANCE/THEATRE
This international co-production by the award-winning Tunisian director Meher Awachri about the aspirations of young North Africans and exposing the human conflict between East and West.
28 November 2015, 7:30pm
Cie El-Ajouad: End/Ignified
(UK PREMIERE) – THEATRE
It was an act of self-immolation that started the Arab Spring. An extreme gesture of social protest that spread across the Maghreb region and even further. Director Kheireddine Lardjam commissioned Mustapha Benfodil, controversial writer and journalist of the Algerian daily newspaper El-Watan, to give a voice to these people.
29 November 2015, 6:00pm
Cie El-Ajouad: The World Sleeps in An Arab Woman
(UK PREMIERE)- PERFORMANCE
From Tunis to Benghazi, from Cairo to Sanaa, Arab women started the Arab independance before
current events. Today, they are the first to be threatened by the wind of conservativism. They now need to begin a second struggle for a cultural, social and sexual revolution. At the heart of this is the birth of true democracy, with Arab women writers choosing the pen as their last weapon. In this piece, Kheirredine Lardjam helps us hear their cries.