"Khanka" by Amira Hamdi
with Hayet Darwich and Nolwenn Peterschmitt from CRISIS
The raw material for "Khanka", a poetic performance resulting from a year-long residency at L'Art Rue, is Amira Hamdi's powerful poetry.
Her writing is metaphorical and epic, made up of flesh and wounds, drawing on the imagination as the thirsty drink. Hayet Darwich and Nolwenn Peterschmitt, from the Crisis group (a collective of actresses and directors from Marseilles) have expanded this universe with everything that can embody words and open up the voice.
"Khanka" is an attempt to find other dimensions to reality, through words, bodies and space. It's a dialogue between the freedom of the imagination and the slavery of reality.
As part of Dream City 2017, South African performer and choreographer Boyzie Cekwana has chosen to work with minorities on issues of repressed difference and forced conformity. Among these young artists was 23-year-old Amira Hamdi, who performed texts she had written herself, striking both the audience and the L'Art Rue artistic team with the strength of her writing.
Rich, dense, violent and innovative, Amira's writing explores every register of the language, juggling both Tunisian dialect and literary Arabic. With an uncompromising eye, the young poet explores the issues facing Tunisian society today, dealing with minorities, society's view of "the Other", the pain of exclusion... Sometimes the words and rhythm soften to offer a more dreamlike, introspective universe.
Rebellious or gentle, Amira's language is captivating.
Rencontre avec Mira Hamdi (artiste, poétesse) : Dompteuse de mots, La Presse, Haithem Haouel, 2019
Practical information
From February 2018 to May 2019 at L'Art Rue
Duration
15 months
