This stage in El Kef, considered the city of theater in Tunisia, included a period of research, artistic residency and co-creation, March 22-25, 2022, as part of the Festival 24 heures, at the Centre des Arts Dramatiques et Scèniques du Kef, and with the support of the Italian Cultural Institute of Tunis, aimed at the exchange of performance practices and the selection of young actors and dancers to be involved in the subsequent project stages.
The theme of the border was explored from the point of view of geographical barriers and economic arrangements that condition cultural relations between different countries and lead to the creation of new migration routes and flows, but also new borders. Tunisia again constitutes a place of departures to Europe, and there are many tense situations on the border with Libya, where sand walls are built to demarcate access.
Creative residency at the Centre des Arts Dramatiques et Scèniques du Kef
Director Anna Dora Dorno drew on her long-standing collaboration with young Tunisian dancer and choreographer Moody Ghazouani and the prticipation throughout the work process of video maker Hani Ayadi. Along with performer Nicola Pianzola they guided a group of 25 very young performers, many of them students of the Centre des Arts Dramatiques et Scèniques du Kef, in the exploration of the project’s themes and in the co-creation of actions, texts, and group dynamics that have become part of Beyond Borders’ artistic baggage. Interesting aspects of this working session were: the multilingualism of the dramaturgy (Italian, French, Arabic), the research on traditional Tunisian singing, the interaction with Hani Ayadi’s video creations.
The Italian artists were able to enrich their experience thanks precisely to their contact with a different culture rich in performance traditions, but also and above all by drawing on the stories and testimonies of a generation that still feels the desire to cross the sea to make the journey of hope.