Language: no Broblem

When speaking more than one language becomes a means of navigation, how are linguistic hierarchies shaped by power dynamics? How does embodying them reshape our understanding of frontiers and displacement? 

Moving between languages, geographies, voices, and imaginations, Language: no broblem explores the complexities of multilingualism in the face of systems of oppression. 

Following a reflexive yet surreal train journey through Belgium, the performance tracks the protagonist encounters a series of intriguing moments. Her personal story is woven together with those of her family members living under occupation. Through their voices, they reveal their relationship to Palestinian Arabic, their spoken mother tongue, in contrast with Hebrew, the official state language of where they live. The piece sheds light on one of colonialism’s often-overlooked strategies: the gradual yet deliberate displacement of native languages by those of the settler.

Marah Haj Hussein exposes the layered forms of pressure, violence, and domination a language can exert over another, revealing how languages transform and adapt under systemic control. The theatre becomes a space where conflicting realities collide, with humour, anger, love, and absurdity interwoven throughout. Language: no broblem embraces the limits of translatability, inviting us to reflect on the ongoing processes of resistance embedded in language, identity, and survival.