Cheikhats, ritueel voorbij het binaire denken

It is a dizzying leap beyond binary thinking: a spectacle in which Moroccan men free themselves from prescribed patterns and go in search of their 'feminine' side, to celebrate the Cheikhats with an exuberant performance. The Cheikhats (pronounced sayg-hats) were free-spirited women, provocateurs of patriarchal society, champions of love and freedom who, until they were knocked off their pedestal in the 1990s, held an important place in their country's musical and cultural traditions.

Last summer Myriam Sahraoui, theatre maker and member of Female Economy, invited the company to create a performance together. It became an exciting fusion of the Cheikhats, the divas with their transgressive performances and sensual music, and the loving approach of Female Economy, which makes theatre focused on the encounter between people.

-|-They are artistic soulmates, exploring and denouncing notions of femininity and masculinity. There is room for stories from here and now, for example about 'the many lives' of a transgender Muslim woman. Sahraoui talks about her grief when her father died in Morocco and she could not say goodbye to him because women are not welcome at certain funeral rites.

Cheikhats, a ritual beyond binary thinking is an intense experience, a musical theatre performance full of exuberant singing and percussion about love, death and stereotypes about gender, ending with hypnotic dance.

concept + research Myriam Sahraoui
direction Ola Mafaalani + Adelheid Roosen
design Adelheid Roosen
dramaturgy Lauren Rissik
direction-assistance Anne Heintz
cast Ghassan el Hakim, Amine Naouni, Walid Rakik, Ali Rehmi-Lamaadi, Ahmed Rifki, Myriam Sahraoui, Adelheid Roosen, Dinah Bons, Leendert Vooijce, Chaima Amiri, Sophia a Tjak Hiwat, Ilse Lenstra, Nazmiye Oral, Oguz Ozdemir, Aryelle Foster, Soumaya Bazi, Paca Faraus, Hilda Moucharafieh, Salim Bayri, Ksenia Sergienko
light design Jantje Geldhof
production Marieke van Dam
technics Esther Bernart -|-
emotional body work Jale Simsek
marketing lead Letice Braun
press lead Dayenne Mulder
business development Bregtje Bos
photography + trailer Prins de Vos
photography Casper Buijtendijk
video Bart Majoor
surtitles Jasmijn Ooms
special thanks to Julidans
with icicles of Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunsten + Fonds Podiumkunsten