Union Suspecte
Nit Nithei Garabam vzw – ‘Man is a remedy for man’ – was founded in 1994 by Chokri Ben Chikha, the late Omar Camara and Zouzou Ben Chikha. Following a series of projects, productions and collaborations with theatres, the brothers founded Union Suspecte in 2003. The focus is on creating productions that combine text, dance and music. The story of the individual, set against the backdrop of history on a grand scale, takes centre stage. The connection between a distorted, staged history and the current, polarised intercultural debate on migration and identity forms the central theme of Chokri Ben Chikha’s family trilogy: De Leeuw van Vlaanderen (2003), Onze Lieve Vrouw van Vlaanderen (2005) and Broeders van Liefde (2007).
In 2008, theatre maker and performer Chokri Ben Chikha left the company. Driven by a need to recharge his batteries and a critical stance towards intercultural performing arts, he embarked on a practice-based, artistic doctoral research project in the arts at KASK/School of Arts/Hogent and Ghent University. In this research, he explored the critical value of using stereotypes as theatrical symbols. Artistic research and theatrical experimentation are central to his work. In 2009, the theatre company Action Zoo Humain emerged from his research.
In its productions, the company chooses to bring together artists from a variety of backgrounds.
Action Zoo Humain
In its productions, the new company chooses to bring together artists from diverse backgrounds, such as Erwin Jans (dramaturg at Toneelhuis), Joost Vandecasteele (writer, comedian, theatre maker, formerly of Abatoir Fermé), Zouzou Ben Chikha (musician, actor, formerly of Union Suspecte), Bregt Van Wijnendaele (musician and art historian), Herwig Deweerdt (actor, writer, director), Koen Augustijnen (choreographer and dancer with Les ballets C de la B), Visual Creations (multimedia) and drama and performance students from KASK/School of Arts/Hogent. In 2010, Chokri Ben Chikha collaborated with the above-mentioned artists to create a ‘Heroic Death’ trilogy (2010): L’Afrique C’est Chic, De Ceremonie: Heldendood voor de Beschaving, and De Finale: een Stand-up Tragedie. Three projects exploring the concept of heroism: one in Senegal, one on the streets of Flanders and one in the theatre.
From 2015 onwards, Action Zoo Humain has focused on Flemish identity and Flanders with two new productions: Flemish Pavilion (2015) and Flandrien (2015). At the same time, the company is continuing to work on the next part of the Truth Commission series. In Join the Revolution (2015), Chokri and Zouzou Ben Chikha, together with Mourade Zeguendi and Marijke Pinoy, explore various avenues for steering the Tunisian Revolution in a positive direction. With Platform (2017) and Onderworpen (2017), two productions based on the novels of Michel Houellebecq, Action Zoo Humain joined forces with NTGent from 2017 onwards. In December 2017, Amnesty/Amnesia premiered. The production pits the daughter of a veteran of the Eastern Front against the mother of a Syrian fighter in the setting of a talk show.