Hafsa Aqqal

Those languages, representing Omar and me, I want to resonate as intellectual and artistic means of expression that transcend folklore.
This piece will be an encounter between Omar, our languages, a part of my identity and us.

With Omar ibn Saïd et nous, Hafsa Aqqal sets out on a journey grafted onto the life story of Omar ibn Saïd. An 18th-century black scholar who was enslaved in the United States but refused to remain silent. He speaks in Pulaar and writes in Arabic. In his autobiography, he shares with us his own story, his life, his emotions and his faith. While reading, Aqqal feels the urge to tell the stories that weave the web of history, forgotten in the folds of time, and to legitimize them by depicting them Through language, one of the common threads in this creation, stories, emotions and multiple identities are interpreted.

Aqqal wants the languages, which stand for her and Omar, to resonate. Hafsa Aqqal started with theater at the academies of Saint-Josse and Schaerbeek. She took several courses in words, drama, diction and more. In 2019, she joined theater company Ras el Hanout. She debuted in “Chuuut: les femmes musulmanes ont des choses à dire.” She also currently works for Ras El Hanout as an actress, stage manager and presenter “Omar Ibn Saïd” is her first creation.Aqqal was born in Italy and moved to Belgium at the age of six. Her Moroccan heritage embraces her being, where cultures and languages merge in a joyous and sometimes disturbing chaos.