AWRAQ ( Leaves)
-Work in progress-
AWRAQ — “leaves” in Arabic — evokes the blank page, the starting point of all creation. The leaf becomes a symbol: an empty space to inhabit, a material to transform, a surface upon which shifting identities are inscribed. On stage, Hamza EL Alouani is joined by circus artist Joana Nicioli and musician Maximin Bégin. Together, they create a world where identities unfold and recombine, carried by a language that blends movement, object manipulation, and sound design.
AWRAQ presents itself as an invitation to travel: a form of circus that celebrates the power of imagination and the ability to create a whole world out of almost nothing.
AWRAQ develops a poetry of the everyday, where body and object enter into dialogue. Nourished by outreach work with young audiences, the project reimagines circus techniques: an ordinary object becomes a pretext, a gesture repeats and then shifts, like so many “leaves” gradually filled over the course of the performance.
Starting from a simple situation — a character alone in an intimate space — the piece explores how boredom can become a driving force for invention. Faced with emptiness, doubt, and the whisper of consciousness, the bodies come alive, repurpose everyday objects, and bring forth a circus of the unexpected.
AWRAQ is a piece performed by three artists from different backgrounds (France, Brazil, Morocco), blending circus, humor, dance, and object manipulation, drawing inspiration from silent cinema.
CAST & CREW
Hamza El Alouani, director and performer
Joana Nicioli, performer
Maximin Bégin, musician
Julie Keyser, costume designer
Fanny-Lou Clop, costume intern
Estelle Duriez, set designer
Hozhoji Blanchard, apparatus and set builder
Michel Abdallah, lighting designer
Premiere at 13e Sens, Obernai, on March 12 and 13, 2027
Upcoming Residencies
July 7 to August 29, 2025
Young Summer Residents Program, Point d’Eau, Ostwald and CSC de la Montagne Verte, Strasbourg (67)
September 8 to 12, 2025
Residency, Graine de Cirque Big Top, Strasbourg (67)
January to June 2026
School Residency, Lycée Émile Mathis, Schiltigheim (67)
March 16 to 22, 2026
Residency at La Fabrique de Théâtre, Strasbourg (67)
June 15 to 28, 2026
Residency at MEMO, Maxéville–Nancy (54)
August 17 to 29, 2026
Residency at 13e Sens, Obernai (67)
August 31 to September 5, 2026
Residency at L’Illiade, Illkirch-Graffenstaden (67)
November 16 to 20, 2026
Le Point d’Eau, Ostwald (67)