Hiba Najem and Samah Boulmona took up residency at the Château de Goutelas in June 2024 as part of the Odyssée residency programme. There, they were able to work on their culinary theatre performance project, entitled "Freekeh - Il y a 40 jours ma tante est morte" ("Freekeh - 40 days ago my aunt died").
"For two weeks, Samah and I stayed at the Château de Goutelas to finalise my new culinary performance, Freekeh. The time spent in this peaceful place surrounded by nature was very beneficial for us.
We were able to organise our time so that we could work alone and with each other.
I was able to finish the last phase of writing, and the text is now ready. In Beirut, following an initial residency, Samah had composed the music for the first part we were working on. During these two weeks, he was able to take the time she needed to rethink the music in the light of the second part of the text, which had also been completed. So Samah was able to have a complete idea of the text to inspire her music.
We worked every day for seven hours on the staging. I've now arranged the tables in a very practical and simple way so as to have two well-defined stage areas.
Lena (Léna Seux, in charge of cultural projects at Château de Goutelas) was able to find us a hob and we were finally able to test the cooking time. In future, we'll have to choose vegetables that cook more quickly - or adapt the cooking time. Even so, we were delighted to be able to try cooking freekeh for real and share it with others.
Around ten people attended our residency outing. Samah and I performed in Arabic and the audience had texts translated into French. It wasn't the ideal solution but, given the limited preparation time, translation seemed to be the best solution. For the performances to be staged in France, I will be speaking in French. We still have to think about how to translate Samah's text and songs.
The residency helped us a lot and, apart from the technical side (sound and light, scenic touches and props), I could say that my new performance is ready!
The whole team at the château was very welcoming and attentive. Whether it was the administrative, technical or kitchen team, all our requests were met. We were also lucky enough to take part in all the activities at the 'Futurs possibles' festival and meet some very interesting people and artists.
We are really grateful for these two weeks and we thank all the people behind this very important programme for us."