I Hate Theatre I Love Pornography
by Zoukak Theatre Company
 
Direction: Omar Abi Azar
Lighting Design/Technical Direction: Nadim Deaibes
Assistant Director: Rahaf Jammal, Natalie Maalouf
Graphic Design: Maya Chami
Communication: Marianne Kortbani
Production management: Mohamad Hamdan
Co-produced by: IBSEN Awards
Supported by: Sundance Institute and Drosos Foundation
 
On stage (devised and performed): Lamia Abi Azar, Omar Abi Azar, Hashem Adnan, Ziad Chakaroun, Khodor Ellaik, Junaid Sarieddeen and Maya Zbib
 
 
The first phase of this project was created in collaboration with Abdullah Al Kafri, Ahmad Ghossein, Nathalie Harb and Helle Siljeholm, at the Ibsen Theatre in Skien, Norway, in 2014.
The work on this piece started in 2014 during a residency at the Ibsen Center in Skien, Norway and was based on themes from Ibsen’s Enemy of the People and Pillars of the Society. It was later performed as a work in progress in Norway as part of the IBSEN conference in 2014, in India as part of ITFOK - International Theater Festival of Kerala in 2015, and in Lebanon. In 2017, it was partly developed and presented within Sundance Institute’s Theatre Lab in Utah. In 2019, it was further developed into its current version and presented in October at Ibsen Teater in Norway, within the Ibsen Awards festival.

Zoukak Theatre Company
 
Zoukak was created in 2006 as a non-hierarchical structure, dedicated to theatre practice as social and political involvement, with a belief in theatre as a space for common reflection and in collectivity as a position against marginalizing systems.
 
Through their performances, they tackle topics that question the status-quo in their context and beyond. They structure their research and creation processes around cycles of work, producing an array of projects around specific themes; such as gender and sexuality, history, power and religion, death and immortality, childhood and violence, re-enactment, among others. They have worked and presented performances regionally and internationally, in festivals and venues in the Middle East, Europe, the United States, South America, South East Asia and parts of Africa.
 
Moreover, they are committed to diversifying their theatre tools and applying them in various contexts: through social engagement, therapy, and education, finding ways to connect social interventions with artistic investigations. The company developed a specific approach to drama therapy and socially engaged theatre, providing workshops and training programs to diverse groups, and devising performances in various contexts locally and abroad.
 
Zoukak endeavours to develop an environment of dialogue and reflection around the performing arts in Lebanon and to provide artistic development and international touring opportunities for local artists. They produce collaborations, residencies and events with artists in the company’s studio, producing, “Zoukak Sidewalks Festival” since 2013, and “Focus Liban” (since 2015), a platform that supports the production and diffusion of work by emerging and established artists residing in Lebanon.
 
Since 2016, they have focused on the transmission of knowledge and expertise; delivering several cycles of an in-depth Training of Theatre Practitioners in Psychosocial Mediation Techniques, implementing mentorship programs for groups of youths and emerging artists.
 
Zoukak received the Ibsen Scholarship award (2012), the Anna Lindh Foundation’s Euromed Dialogue Award for social resilience and creativity (2014), the Honorary Citizenship of the City of Palermo (2017), the preamium Imperiale Grant for Young Artists from the Japan Arts Association (2017) and the Chirac Foundation Award of Culture for Peace (2017) and the Ellen Stewart International Award (2018).