Casablanca – Moroccan actress Nouzha Regragui makes her comeback with the new play “Ma Ragdach,” presented as part of the Kalimat group and the Fondation des Arts Vivants.
The production is not recent, as it has been staged since 2022 in Rabat and Casablanca, with a recent performance held yesterday at the Abdessamad Kenfaoui Theatre in Casablanca.
Directed by Adil Madih, the play stars Hayat Aabik, Nada Benjelloun, Kawtar Hadioui, Salma Najib, Noufel El Ouardi, and Mohamed Issam El Foundy alongside Regragui.
Refusal as a form of resistance
The play is a Moroccan reimagining of the Greek comedy “Lysistrata” by Aristophanes. It explores gender roles in society and portrays women’s resistance to male authority.
In an effort to push for peace and restore balance, five women decide to withhold what men desire most, using this collective refusal as their strategy.
This is intended to show the value women bring to men’s life, implying that they cannot live without them, as expressed in one of the play’s lines: “We women will save the city… and make men understand that life without us is impossible.”
The play is about everyday tensions between men and women, drawing out the enduring dichotomy between them and the shifting dynamics of power within interactions. It also revisits long-standing debates around gender roles and mutual dependence, where authority, resistance, and expectation continually overlap.
Blending drama and comedy, “Ma Ragdach” sheds light on social issues that keep plaguing societies, using humor and storytelling to reflect on gender dynamics and the tensions that still shape relationships between men and women.
Through this adaptation, this artistic work revisits a classical story through a local lens, reflecting on gender dynamics that remain relevant today.
