Casablanca will host the first edition of the Theatre and Cultures Festival 19-24 January. Initiated by the Arts Vivants Foundation and organised in collaboration with the Cervantès Institute and the Institut Français in Casablanca, the festival will feature plays performed by troupes from Morocco, Spain, France, and Algeria. In addition to the plays, the programme includes films screenings, including the works of Luis Bunuel and Souhail Benbarka. Other events include poetry readings by Adonis and conferences with the participation of Spanish poet Juan Goytisolo, Hassan Nejmi and Hassan Ouazzani.
According to organisers, the first edition of the festival is dedicated to Spanish poet, writer, musician, painter and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca, whose works marked 20th century Spanish history.
The festival's agenda features the performance of plays, halqas (street theatre), movie projections, poetry reading, exhibitions, in addition to a series of conferences and debates.
The plays to be performed include various adaptations of Lorca's works. Three will be given by Moroccan groups, “Bnet Lalla Mennana” and “Dar al Aman”, inspired from Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba, and “Les Jardins de Lorca,” inspired from the playwright's Blood Wedding.
Lorca's Love of Don Perlimplin and Belisa in the Garden and Yerma will be played by French and Spanish groups respectively.
“The festival aims at making theatre more accessible in Morocco and increasing the audience attracted to this art,” organisers told Morocco Times.
The festival will also feature an exhibition including photos, manuscripts and documents on the “Biography of Federici Garcia Lorca”.
Poems will be read by Syrian poet Adonis, Moroccan actresses Sophia Hadi and Samia Akarriou, and Moroccan writer Larbi el Harti. The readings will be accompanied by Moroccan lutist Said Chraibi.
In addition to the halqas, which will be performed by traditional narrators and actors in open public spaces, live shows will include flamenco, rai, and modern dance.
Films and documentaries inspired from Lorca's life and works will be shown during the event.
Four major conferences will be held on the fringes of the festival. Debates will see participation of Laura Lorca, Garcia Lorca's niece, poets Hassan Nejmi, Hassan Ouazzani, and Juan Goytisolo, and writer Laarbi el Harti.
The debates will also be attended by sociologist Jamal Khalil, actors and directors William Mesguich, Samia Akariou, Mohamed Zouhir, and Younes Ahajjam, and traditional narrator Bariz.
The event is organised in cooperation with the Spanish and French cultural centres.
Lorca (1898-1936) was an emblematic figure of the 20th century literature. A poet and dramatist, he is also remembered as a painter, pianist, and composer.
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