Language: No broblem

We follow a reflective, curious train journey across Belgium, during which the protagonist encounters unexpected conversations. Her personal account weaves into the stories of her family members. Their voices speak to their relationships with Palestinian Arabic, their spoken mother tongue, and Hebrew, the official language of the state where they live. The performance creates a space to listen to the active yet subtle mechanisms through which the settler’s language slowly, generation by generation, overrides that of the native population. A work navigating between languages, geographies, voices, and the imagination.

Marah Haj Hussein

A dancer, actress, and artist from Kafr Yasif in occupied Palestine. Currently based in Antwerp, she graduated with a degree in Dance from the Royal Conservatoire in 2021 and completed her Master’s in Theatre Arts at KASK in Ghent in June 2023. By bridging these two disciplines, Marah challenges the boundary separating text from movement, exploring ways to integrate both within performative space. Her practice interrogates the definition of the mother tongue and investigates power dynamics embedded within language. Her notable works include Kilma Hilwa & Zayt Zaitoun (2021), In Exile (2022), and Language: No broblem (2023).

Duration: 75 min
Languages: Spoken in English, Dutch, Arabic, and Hebrew, subtitled in Czech

Concept and Performance: Marah Haj Hussein
Sound Design: Anton Lambert
Music and Composition: Verena Rizzo
Projection Mapping & Techniques: Koen de Saeger
Dramaturgy: Krystel Khoury
Scenography and Textile: Agnese Forlani
Décor: Mohamed Sultan
Light Design: Pol Seif
Co-Produced by: Monty & Moussem
Funded by: Het TheaterFestival, Fonds voor Nieuwe Makers van Stad Antwerpen