News from Civsy, based on generative AI tools and retrieval-augumented real time data searchWhen Tunisian theatre director Marwa Mannaï joined the European Theatre Academy in 2023, she did not yet know that the encounter with Croatian theatre leader Dubravka Vrgoč would grow into one of the most politically charged stage productions in contemporary Tunisian theatre. Their shared interest in narratives of displacement and borders led to the development of In the Belly of the Whale, a co-production between the Tunisian National Theatre and the Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajc in Rijeka, built around testimonies of migrants held in detention centres and transit zones between North Africa and Europe. Conceived as an artistic response to the normalization of migrant suffering, the play uses intimate monologues, fragmented memories and physical theatre to expose the bureaucratic violence that governs irregular migration.
From the outset, In the Belly of the Whale was positioned as more than a national production: it was presented within the framework of European–African cultural cooperation and supported by a European grant, alongside institutional backing from the Croatian National Theatre. The project gathered a mixed cast and creative team from Tunisia and Croatia, working between Rijeka and Tunis, and was promoted as a model of South–North collaboration that centres voices from the Mediterranean periphery rather than reproducing them as passive subjects of European policy.
Staging the invisible: premieres in Rijeka and Tunis
The world premiere took place in Croatia at the Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajc in Rijeka, where the production was announced as a “powerful collaboration between Tunisia and Croatia” and part of a season explicitly engaging with contemporary political realities. Early reactions highlighted the raw emotional charge of the testimonies, the refusal of simplistic victim narratives, and the play’s insistence on showing the everyday logistics of detention: numbered bodies, plastic mattresses, confiscated phones, the slow erosion of time.
Following its Croatian debut, In the Belly of the Whale travelled to Tunis, where it was programmed at the iconic 4ème Art Hall of the Tunisian National Theatre, a venue historically linked to politically engaged and experimental work. Performances in early 2025 drew strong audience numbers and intense post-show discussions, with Tunisian media underlining the way the play mirrors the country’s ambiguous role as both a departure point and a containment space within Euro-Mediterranean migration regimes. In both countries, the production was received as an urgent and timely artistic intervention rather than a marginal niche work.
From success to stoppage: a sudden dead end
Despite this success, the life of the production appears to have been abruptly cut short. After the initial Tunisian and Croatian performances, no further shows were programmed in Tunis, even as international partners signalled interest and the Croatian side continued to promote the work as part of its repertoire. Publicly available promotional material from early 2025 refers to plans for a broader European tour, but these ambitions did not materialise for Tunis-based performances, where the production’s visibility has been frozen at the level of early announcements and media coverage.
The silence around the non-renewal of performances is striking. No official statement has been issued by the Tunisian National Theatre explaining why a publicly funded, internationally acclaimed co-production has not been granted further dates, despite the infrastructural feasibility and the political relevance of its theme. This institutional opacity stands in sharp contrast with the transparency demanded of artists, who are expected to justify every grant, partnership or thematic choice when dealing with migration. In effect, the absence of a decision becomes a decision in itself: keeping the play off stage without openly banning it.
Digital protest and the cost of speaking out
In late May 2025, Mannaï turned to social media to articulate what institutions would not name. In a now-deleted Facebook post, she shared a still image from In the Belly of the Whale alongside a stark caption counting the months since the last performance, and tagged theatre officials and collaborators to make visible the network of responsibility around the blocked production. This act of digital dissent, brief but highly symbolic, functioned as both a denunciation of institutional gatekeeping and a reminder that Tunisian artists often navigate censorship not through overt bans, but through administrative delay, non-renewal, and silent obstruction.
The rapid disappearance of the post illustrates the precarious position of artists dependent on state institutions for access to stages, audiences and resources. In a context where migration has become a hyper-sensitive topic, intersecting with European pressure, security discourses and domestic politics, works like In the Belly of the Whale risk being treated as liabilities rather than contributions to public debate. The case exposes how easily international cultural cooperation can be undermined when domestic institutions choose risk aversion over artistic autonomy, and how, in the absence of transparent communication, silence itself becomes a form of soft censorship.
A Tunisian–Croatian theatre collaboration, In the Belly of the Whale, brought real testimonies from migrant detention centres to the stage, confronting audiences with the human cost of Europe’s border regime. After critically acclaimed performances in Tunis and Rijeka, the production has been quietly shelved by the Tunisian National Theatre, with no official explanation and no new dates, despite strong public demand.
This case highlights how institutional silence and bureaucratic obstruction can function as soft censorship, especially when artists address politically sensitive themes like migration, borders and international responsibility. It raises urgent questions about artistic autonomy, accountability in state-funded cultural institutions and the fragility of international cultural cooperation when it touches raw political nerves.
#ArtisticFreedom #Censorship #Theatre #Migration #HumanRights #CulturalPolicy #Tunisia #Croatia #EuroMed #FreedomOfExpression #MimetaMemos
References
Deconfining – “In the Belly of the Whale: On the Fate of Migrants Amid Personal and Collective Tragedies.”deconfining
Journées Théâtrales de Carthage – “In the Belly of the Whale.”jtcarthage
Deconfining – Facebook post on Tunisian–Croatian collaboration.facebook
Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajc – “In the Belly of the Whale.”hnk-zajc
TVN Tunisie – Report on In the Belly of the Whale.facebook
Urm Chabcheb blog – “A World Premiere Acclaimed in Croatia.”urmchabcheb.wordpress
Instagram – Scene from In the Belly of the Whale.instagram
