Nini Ya Momo

In Nini ya Momo do, Soukaina Habiballah interweaves the voice of a grandmother and her granddaughter, who speak to each other through the absence of the mother. The first is haunted by postcolonial trauma; the second, by postpartum depression. On stage, Soukaina intertwines the Arabic and English versions of the cycle of poems: as if the two voices were alternating in her own body, her own psyche as a poetess — as if the two women were living inside her. 

The performance, stage directed by Henri Jules Julien, unfolds to a sound composition created by Zouheir Atbane based on Moroccan lullabies collected from very old women in all corners of the country, speaking its many languages. This intricate soundscape contrasts with the exceptional softness and striking presence of Soukaina’s voice.