Review: Manjal, Theatro Technis

Theatro Technis is a vibrant, quirky location. It’s an inclusive performing arts and theatre community, founded in 1957 by the late George Eugeniou, and community is evident upon arrival for Manjal, part of Shubbak Festival 2025. The narrow entrance to this intimate venue has the feel of a bazaar, with merchandise, conversations and laughter, which the audience thread their way through to enter the building itself. Inside there’s a small bar/café area, leading to a simple but sizeable performance space with capacity for up to 120 people in flexible staging.

Shubbak (‘window’ in Arabic) curates a biennial festival celebrating the diversity of Arab and South West Asian & North African (SWANA) work; providing a home to multi-dimensional art forms. Tonight, Manjal offers a rousing evening of spoken word and dance, honouring culture, tradition and the longstanding suffering and political turmoil being endured.

Tarweedeh Collective and Nabad Troupe celebrate Palestinian culture through the art of Dabke (stamping). Inspired by Palestinian spirit, Nabad (heart/pulse) affirms that hope will never be dampened, dedication will never be diminished, and with each stomp they come closer to justice and to a free Palestine. Ameena Adileh choreographs a thoughtful and passionate range of dance pieces to illustrate the culture and storytelling of the Palestinian community

The format of dance, interwoven with storytelling through spoken word, is effective in drawing the audience’s attention and responsiveness. There’s a pulsating range of rhythm and emotion, the audience providing the percussion with clapping, whoops and stamping of their own. During spoken word, the occasional murmurs of appreciation for shared memories, loss and hope punctuate powerful messages.

Female dancers clad in black, red and gold, men in traditional shirts, trousers and all in black boots and head coverings stamp, twirl masbaha(bead lines) and connect through sharing of keffiyehs (traditional scarves) celebrating their strength and culture. Adileh shines as the heart of the dance troupe. Her precision and expressive presence contrasted with some of the troupe who appeared to be unrehearsed and lacking in confidence. This was illustrated by several missteps and a significant collision during the dance. However, the troupe share passion for the emotions of the dances, from soft footed tenderness to defiant determination to emerge and survive, regardless of the challenges.

An accomplished actor, Ameena similarly switches between elegant, determined movement to articulating the emotional spoken word with rhythm and eloquence. This contrasted significantly with other spoken word performances, which were disjointed or misspoken, despite each performer carrying physical notes or phones, while a lack of microphones restricted the impact of their words upon the entire audience. Nevertheless, the threads of how “red suits everyone”’, “red lipstick stains everything” and “red doesn’t rub off”are touching and thought provoking. Equally the kneading of bread for sustenance, sharing, for memories of safety and warmth in the kitchens of loved ones, evokes poignancy and sighs from the audience.

The lighting is often very subdued, making some dancers difficult to see or appreciate, but the music is beautiful – a soundtrack of tradition, suffering, family and joy. Manjal evokes many similarities across global cultures: defiance of those oppressed, the burdens of labels such as ‘resilient’ or ‘brave’; the emotional call to be ordinary, normal and self-defining.

This event leaves palpable emotional impact – Nabad: “A sign of life — the louder we stomp, the faster we breathe, the stronger the pulse, and the more we hold on.”

Dancers: Tarweedeh/ Nabad Troupe
Choreography by: Ameena Adileh, Siwar Association for Culture and Arts
Music by: El-Funoun Palestinian Dance Troupe, and Siwar Association for Culture and Arts
Produced by: Alaa Owaineh

This performance is now finished. Shubbak Festival 25 runs until Sunday 15 June.