Ali Chahrour
When I Saw the Sea
December
2026
Sinopse
When I Saw the Sea opens the doors to untold stories, diving into the nightmares of the Kafala system. Three women give voice to the countless migrant domestic workers in Lebanon, navigating between exploitation and freedom, death and life’s defiant celebration. Fearless they sing with their bodies a lullaby made of fire, love, and justice.
"Between the sea and a city ablaze, an oak grips the earth, in its shadow a fox dances, and a girl stares, unwavering, into the horizon."
— Ali Chahrour
work
resistance
exile
© Christophe Raynaud De Lage
© Kassim Dabaji
© Christophe Raynaud De Lage
© Christophe Raynaud De Lage
Aditional info
Price
9€
-
Duration
1h10
- Age rating
To be classified - Aditional Information
Spoken in Arab, Amharic and English, subtitled in Portuguese and English
Acessibilidades do espetáculo
Author's bio text
Born in Beirut, the choreographer and dancer Ali Chahrour, invents a gesture, freed from Western codes and models, which acts as a reflection of his culture and the political, social and religious context in which he evolves. In a previous series of shows, part of his trilogy Death — Fatmeh (2014), Leila’s Death (2015) and May he Rise and smell the fragrance (2017) — he summoned funeral liturgies mixing tradition with a sharp modernity. He then undertook a second series of performances devoted to Love, with Night (2019), followed by Told by my Mother (2021), The Love Behind My Eyes (2021) that won the ZKB Patronage prize at the 2022 Zurich Theater Spektakel, and concluded with Iza Hawa (2023). Combining lyrical poetry, raw emotion and tangled bodies, crafting a vivid tapestry of human connection, Ali Chahrour's performances were presented at Avignon festival in 2016, 2018, 2022 and 2025 and in many other festivals around the world. Currently, he is working on the trilogy around the theme of Fear.
Ficha Técnica
Direction and choreography
Ali ChahrourPerformed by
Zena Moussa, Tenei Ahmad, Rania JamalMusic composed and performed by
Lynn Adib, Abed KobeissyAssistant to the direction and choreography
Chadi Aoun
Light design and technical director
Guillaume Tesson
Assistant to the technical director
Pol Seif
Sound designer
Benoît Rave
- Scenography
Guillaume Tesson, Ali ChahrourCo-produced by
Le Festival d’Avignon, Ibsen Scope, HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin, Arab fund for arts and culture (AFAC), Al Mawred al Thaqafi, DeSingel Antwerp, Domino Zagreb, Perforations Festival, Holland Festival, Zürcher Theater Spektakel, Al Madina Theater
With the support of
Beryte Theater, L’Institut Français de Beyrouth, Wicked Solutions, WASL Productions, Beit el Laffé, Raseef, Beirut, Houna center, Orient 499
Acknowledgments
Kafa, Megaphone, Daraj Media, Hammana Artist House, Zoukak Theatre, Seenaryo, Mohana Ishak, Hussein Hajj, Abdallah Hatoum, Anthony Sahyoun, Ali Khedr, Eric Deniaud, Chrystèle Khodr, Raymond Zakaria, Hind Hamdan, Viany Ngemakoue, Sophie Ndongo, Jouma Fayé, Mariam Sesay, Sarie Teshome, Aisha Temam, Raheel Teshome, Mihret Birhane, Laurentine Mbekati
