1- The beginnings
– How did the idea come about?
– How was the passage from the idea to the realization?
AMADOU: So, our beginnings, well, our TIMTIMOL troupe, which means rainbow, this troupe was born in 1986. It was created by Mrs. AMINA, the current president. The rainbow, initially, was meant to bring together the entire Mauritanian community, that is, all the Mauritanian layers within the same troupe in order to raise awareness, perform shows to address certain issues, etc. So, according to her (the president), it was primarily her love for art that she inherited from her father that led her to create the TIMTIMOL troupe. As for me, I joined the troupe in 2006-2007, and currently, I hold the position of General Manager.
2- The first steps
– How was your first show?
My first performance wasn’t really difficult for me because I believe I was born with artistic sense, and I was already a master of ceremonies before becoming an actor. However, it was extremely stressful for me because I wanted to make sure I did well, to convince the president that I could truly join the group. But with the president’s encouragement, I was able to perform confidently.
– What are your sources of inspiration?
Our sources of inspiration are primarily our country, which is incredibly inspiring. There are so many things to talk about, so many things to do, and a whole population to raise awareness among. As actors, we believe that we have a role to play wherever there is a problem, wherever there are oppressed people, and wherever there is a situation that needs to be studied and discussed so that solutions can be found. So, what inspires us is our society in general. It’s what we see throughout the day, in the streets, neighborhoods, and within households. Everything is ultimately inspiring, as long as we can transmit it, put it on stage, and discuss it to find solutions to these problems.
3- Difficulties
– What difficulties have you encountered in your career?
I believe that we still encounter these challenges. There are always governing authorities who don’t want certain things to be talked about. There are still taboo subjects in Mauritania to this day. The population doesn’t understand certain things, and there are people who hinder progress simply because we denounce certain issues. So, it’s very difficult to do so, especially in Mauritania where art is not highly developed, and theater even less so. Social theater and theater of the oppressed are still very unknown in Mauritania. We face numerous difficulties. Sometimes, you just want to perform a scene, but there’s a prefect in certain neighborhoods who tells you no, you can’t do it. There are no permits, so the show can’t take place. And if it does, it becomes complicated with threats and a host of other things.
– What constraints have you overcome?
Personally, at the beginning, my father didn’t want me to pursue theater, so I had to convince him. I had to bring home good grades because aligning art and studies is very difficult, and as they say, theater is quite possessive and doesn’t often go hand in hand with certain things. So, it was challenging for me. I had to make choices, decide what I should do. It was tough, but I managed to overcome it, especially when I passed my high school exams despite being involved in theater and performing in shows. I was able to show my father that I could do both simultaneously, and that became my greatest challenge.
4- Your situation in the sector:
– Have you been able to find a place for yourself in the cultural map of your country?
– How?
Yes, absolutely. We were able to establish ourselves and impose social theater because initially in Mauritania, there was only conventional theater, which is popular theater. Thanks to (quadrialakh), who introduced us to forum theater, we brought it to Mauritania and truly established it. We are the first troupe to do so, and we continue to hold the largest share because we have practically trained everyone in theater of the oppressed in Mauritania. We are like the generals who distribute and train as much as we can. We initiate young people, awaken consciousness, raise awareness. Currently, when you mention theater, you immediately think of (quadrialakh). In Mauritania, if you mention forum theater, you will undoubtedly think of TIMTIMOL.
5- The future:
-And then after?
So, for the future, I think we will take a step back to leap forward because the COVID-19 crisis made things very challenging. There were no performances, not even rehearsals because we had strict curfews. Currently, we are in a phase of stepping back to reassess and make improvements. We need to review certain aspects, rewrite scripts, and we are still in that process. We are also planning to organize a major festival, inshallah, which will be the festival of theater of the oppressed in Mauritania. However, it will take more time than originally planned due to our schedule. We aim to hold the festival in 2022 or, at the latest, early 2023, and we are determined to make it happen.
-Where are you going?
We are currently working on implementing our African form of social theater, particularly in Tunisia, Senegal, Egypt, Morocco, Guinea, and other countries. We are also in the process of expanding our outreach to other countries, so this is also a major project we are working on. There are many things to be done in collaboration with others.
