"Our Resources May Run Out, but Never Our Creativity. It's Up to Us to Make it a Collective Force"
The works of the international theater forum, organized by the steering committee of the 26th edition of the Carthage Theater Days, opened on November 24 in Tunis for three days of debate and reflection. Under the theme "The Theater Artist, Their Time and Their Work", this meeting brings together playwrights, authors, directors, and academics from Tunisia and elsewhere. The objective is to question together the place of theater in the individual experience of the artist, but also its positioning in the face of social transformations.
Introduction and Opening Discussions
After the welcome speech by Mohamed Mounir Argui, artistic director of the JTC, Fadhel Jaïbi inaugurated the discussions, introduced by writer and critic Abdelhalim Messaoudi. Messaoudi recalled the exceptional trajectory of the Tunisian director, author of a major work (Ghassalet Nwader, Familia, Comédia, Jounoun, Khamsoun, Yahia Yaïch, Tsunami, Peur(s), Violences, Martyrs, Le Bout de la mer...), all of which have been questioning the fractures, paradoxes, and aspirations of Tunisian society for over fifty years.
Can Theater Transform Our Primal Nature?
Jaïbi began his reflection with the question: "Can theater transform what is most primal in us?" He emphasized that great authors, from Sophocles to Brecht, were first and foremost witnesses of their time. "But can theater change our unconscious, our animal nature?" he asked himself before responding: "No. Theater can awaken a consciousness, but it does not alter that primal core. Let's stop pretending otherwise. If it still serves a purpose, it's perhaps for its cathartic, therapeutic effect."
The Role of Theater in a World in Crisis
Evoking a world in collapse, Jaïbi wondered if theater could really mitigate "the repugnance of the world". Nevertheless, he added, the need to gather around a stage, to share, debate, and confront, remains irreducible. He concluded with an essential question: "Why do we still make theater, when we are living in a time of radical change, comparable to the Renaissance?"
Decentering the Gaze and Building an African Network
Next, Ivorian Abdramane Kamaté, presented by Ali Bennour, brought a different perspective: that of a cultural manager. Director of Masa (African Performing Arts Market), he pleaded for a reform of cultural policies in Africa, which are still fragile and lack sustainable strategies. Kamaté called for a shift in gaze towards other models from the South (Indonesia, Rwanda, South Korea, Brazil) rather than continuing to imitate European patterns that are poorly adapted.
He also emphasized the need to strengthen ties between the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa, two territories "that still know each other too little", recalling that 53 Tunisian applications were submitted to Masa this year. For him, the major challenge is to build a true African network of live performance, capable of supporting a solid cultural economy. Artificial intelligence, he warned, represents more of a challenge than an immediate opportunity.
Plurality, Permanent Mobility
The session continued with the intervention of Latifa Ahrarr, actress, director, filmmaker, and director of a public higher education institute in Rabat, presented by Professor Saïd Karimi. She defended a thought based on plurality, mobility, and permanent construction-deconstruction, which she relates to her nomadic childhood. Awarded at the JCC 2012, she insisted on the importance of her role as a teacher: "I learn a lot from my students. Their new gaze nourishes me."
Recognizing the doubts and disillusionments that artists face, she nevertheless affirms: "I want to be here, and forever". Finally, the audience was able to listen to Professor Emeritus Mohamed Massoud Driss, presented by actor and director Youssef Mesbah Mars, who looked back on a career dedicated to research, cultural management, teaching, and dense scientific production.
