View pictures
Theatre

Wachten

Toneelhuis, Moussem Nomadisch Art Center, Mokhallad Rasem

Toneelhuis theatre-maker Mokhallad Rasem takes a modern-day look at Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and creates a 20-minute show.

How does an Arab theatre director view the world situation? What does ‘waiting’ mean? 

Does your background play a role in what waiting means for you? Does waiting mean the same the world over? Does who or what you are waiting for make a difference? Under what circumstances do you wait? There are numerous forms of waiting: waiting for papers, waiting for insight, waiting for the pain to pass, waiting for a letter, waiting for the return of the one you love, waiting for death, for God, for better times.… Wachten: a play in word and image.

Wachten was selected for the Fringe Madrid Festival and won third prize at the BE Festival in Birmingham in 2014.

In addition to making an extensive tour through Belgian schools, social organizations and refugee centres, the production has been presented in Uganda, Morocco, India, the United Kingdom, Spain, Egypt, Belgrade and the Netherlands. Among other places this season, Wachten will be playing at Fedasil in Brussels, at Gastvrij Boechout, a refugee initiative in Boechout and at Leren Ondernemen, a community centre for the poor in Leuven.

“Rasem pes into the metropolis of Antwerp to find out what ‘waiting’ means for its inhabitants. And he lets them speak in their own language. From romantically waiting for that special person to resignedly waiting for the tram and heartlessly being forced to wait for papers, for a place to call home. Like modern incarnations of Vladimir and Estragon, the testimonies of the asylum-seekers, projected onto frayed pieces of linen, hover between absolute despondency and unremitting hope.” - Charlotte de Somviele in De Morgen, 10 June 2013

Waiting, created by Mokhallad Rasem, uses projections on torn sheets to explore what it means to wait. The strongest moment comes when a refugee talks of waiting two years for the papers that never materialise. The gaps between the torn sheets creates a jagged scar across his face, his life.

concept, direction

  • Mokhallad Rasem

creation & play

  • Lore Uyttendaele
  • Jessa Wildemeersch
  • Mokhallad Rasem
  • Bassim Mohsen

video editing

  • Saad Ibraheem

in the context of

  • moussem.eu

production

  • Moussem Nomadisch Art Center

with the support of

  • Europese Unie

executive producer

  • Toneelhuis

in collaboration with

  • Association Kulturanova

All data

There are no upcoming activities for this event.

  1. Saturday 8 June 2013 — 21h00 — Bourlaschouwburg, Antwerpen
  2. Saturday 15 June 2013 — Bitef Festival, Belgrado, Belgrado
  3. Sunday 16 June 2013 — Bitef Festival, Belgrado, Belgrado
  4. Friday 11 July 2014 — BE Festival, Birmingham, Birmingham
  5. Wednesday 23 July 2014 — Fringe Festival, Madrid
  6. Thursday 24 July 2014 — Fringe Festival, Madrid
  7. Saturday 4 October 2014 — Theater De Nieuwe Vorst, Tilburg
  8. Wednesday 8 October 2014 — Barbican, Londen
  9. Thursday 9 October 2014 — Barbican, Londen
  10. Friday 10 October 2014 — Barbican, Londen
  11. Saturday 11 October 2014 — Barbican, Londen
  12. Monday 13 October 2014 — REP, Birmingham
  13. Tuesday 14 October 2014 — REP, Birmingham
  14. Wednesday 15 October 2014 — Bath Spa Live, Bath, Bath
  15. Thursday 16 October 2014 — Circomedia, Bristol
  16. Friday 17 October 2014 — HOME, Manchester
  17. Saturday 18 October 2014 — HOME, Manchester
  18. Sunday 19 October 2014 — Slunglow –The Hub, Leeds
  19. Tuesday 21 October 2014 — Gulbenkian, Canterbury
  20. Wednesday 22 October 2014 — Gulbenkian, Canterbury
  21. Friday 24 October 2014 — Corral de Alcalá, Madrid
  22. Saturday 25 October 2014 — Corral de Alcalá, Madrid
  23. Sunday 26 October 2014 — Salzburger Festspiele, Salzburg
  24. Wednesday 29 October 2014 — Matadero, Madrid
  25. Thursday 30 October 2014 — Matadero, Madrid
  26. Friday 31 October 2014 — Matadero, Madrid
  27. Saturday 1 November 2014 — Matadero, Madrid
  28. Sunday 2 November 2014 — Matadero, Madrid
  29. Tuesday 4 November 2014 — Southport Theatre, Southport
  30. Wednesday 5 November 2014 — Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Aberystwyth, Aberystwyth
  31. Friday 7 November 2014 — GIFT festival, Gateshead
  32. Saturday 8 November 2014 — Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh
  33. Wednesday 19 November 2014 — 20h00 — Leopoldstraat 31a, Antwerpen
  34. Thursday 20 November 2014 — 20h00 — Leopoldstraat 31a, Antwerpen
  35. Friday 21 November 2014 — 20h00 — Leopoldstraat 31a, Antwerpen
  36. Tuesday 5 May 2015 — The Library of Alexandria, Alexandria
  37. Saturday 6 June 2015 — ACT festival, Bilbao, Bilbao
  38. Wednesday 30 September 2015 — 19h00 — ’t Werkhuys, Borgerhout
  39. Thursday 1 October 2015 — 14h30 — Gemeenschapscentrum Malle, Malle
  40. Monday 5 October 2015 — 20h00 — Sint Lucas, Antwerpen
  41. Friday 9 October 2015 — 15h00 — Corso, Berchem
  42. Monday 12 October 2015 — 15h00 — Fontys Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, Tilburg
  43. Wednesday 21 October 2015 — Red Star Line Museum, Antwerpen
  44. Thursday 22 October 2015 — Red Star Line Museum, Antwerpen
  45. Wednesday 28 October 2015 — De Kunst!humaniora, Antwerpen
  46. Friday 30 October 2015 — 13h30 — CAW Mechelen, Mechelen
  47. Wednesday 2 December 2015 — Safi Festival, Safi
  48. Friday 4 December 2015 — 20h00 — VIERNULVIER/Theaterzaal, Gent
  49. Saturday 9 January 2016 — Asielzoekers Integratie Zemst (AZIZ), Weerde
  50. Sunday 10 January 2016 — 18h00 — Arenbergschouwburg, Antwerpen
  51. Friday 15 January 2016 — International Theatre Festival, Kerala, Kerala
  52. Thursday 28 January 2016 — Fadjr Festival, Teheran
  53. Thursday 4 February 2016 — Koninklijk Atheneum, Antwerpen
  54. Monday 15 February 2016 — Xaveriuscollege, Borgerhout
  55. Friday 19 February 2016 — 20h30 — De Werf, Brugge
  56. Wednesday 23 March 2016 — Parochiezaal Pacem, Wilsele
  57. Wednesday 6 April 2016 — 15h30 — Gevangenis van Dendermonde, Dendermonde
  58. Sunday 17 April 2016 — Fedasil Opvangcentrum, Sint-Truiden
  59. Tuesday 10 May 2016 — 21h00 — CAW Antwerpen - IVCA, Antwerpen
  60. Friday 3 June 2016 — Gevangenis, Turnhout
  61. Monday 20 June 2016 — Rode Kruis Opvangcentrum, Sijsele
  62. Saturday 6 August 2016 — 20h30 — Theater Aan Zee, Oostende
  63. Sunday 18 September 2016 — Gastvrij Boechout, Boechout
  64. Friday 23 September 2016 — Bolzano Bozen, Italy, Bolzano
  65. Friday 23 September 2016 — Bolzano Bozen, Italy, Bolzano
  66. Monday 17 October 2016 — Leren Ondernemen, Leuven
  67. Thursday 27 October 2016 — 20h00 — Fedasil Opvangcentrum Klein Kasteeltje, Brussel
  68. Saturday 19 November 2016 — Carthage Theatre Days Festival, Tunis, Tunesië, Tunis
  69. Wednesday 26 April 2017 — Theater an der Ruhr, Mannheim
  70. Sunday 16 July 2017 — Ubumuntu Arts Festival, Kigali
  71. Saturday 23 September 2017 — 21h30 — Les Francophonies en Limousin, Limoges
  72. Sunday 24 September 2017 — 16h00 — Les Francophonies en Limousin, Limoges
  73. Tuesday 24 October 2017 — Sens Interdits, Lyon
  74. Wednesday 25 October 2017 — Sens Interdits, Lyon
  75. Thursday 19 April 2018 — 17h00 — Kaszas Zaal, Budapest
  76. Monday 30 September 2019 — Youth Theatre Sarajevo, Sarajevo

News about ‘Wachten’

Also interesting productions