NAJWA RAHIM

Algeria — Young women artists in Algeria presented a contemporary reading of cultural memory by reviving the world of "Juha" on stage, in an experience highlighting the presence of a new generation of creative women in renewing folk tales and reinterpreting their heritage symbols.

Young women artists in Algeria chose to restore the world of "Juha" from the stage, giving the folk tale a contemporary presence through prominent female roles. Nour Belil presented the character of "the Singer," and Hala Dissawi embodied the role of "the Word," in an experience seeking to involve a new generation of creative women in re‑presenting part of Algerian cultural memory.

Nour Belil, an artist affiliated with the Youth House of Mazafran Zeralda for Theater and Andalusian Heritage, participated in the show in the role of "the Singer," affirming that the experience gave her the opportunity to work with young women artists. She said her participation "was a beautiful experience through which I met many actresses and artists," expressing her desire to repeat it in the future.

Hala Dissawi, coming from the same theater troupe, presented the role of "the Word," Juha's wife, affirming that she aspires for her performance to gain the audience's acceptance, noting that she believes she mastered the role and presented it in the way she had aspired to.

The experience of the two artists places the folk tale before a question that transcends the boundaries of the performance: What happens when young women today re‑perform characters born in a different time, with different social and cultural images? Folk tales do not only convey humor and wisdom but also carry conceptions about women, men, family, relationships, and social roles. Therefore, re‑presenting them today gives artists a space to re‑read these images, rather than merely repeating them.

The presence of Nour Belil and Hala Dissawi came within the evening during which the European Union delegation in Algeria launched, yesterday, Monday, September 14, the animated series "The Wonderful Juha," at the "Fantasia Land" venue in the capital, in the presence of representatives from the cultural, business, and media fields and members of the diplomatic corps accredited in Algeria.

The series, consisting of seven episodes in Algerian colloquial Arabic, re‑presents "Juha" through adventures taking place in different regions of Algeria—from Ghardaia to the Casbah of Algiers, passing through the Kabylie region and Timimoun. Juha appears sometimes as the naive person and other times in the role of the wise man, within stories combining humor with messages about tolerance, mutual respect, and coexistence.

The character of "Juha" transcends Algerian borders, appearing under different names in a number of Mediterranean countries, such as "Juha" in Italy, Egypt, and the Maghreb countries, and "Nasreddin Hodja" in Turkey and the Balkan region.