Baghdad

Documentary theatre about boys who chase butterflies and men who murder Theatre maker Enkidu Khaled was born in Baghdad, in 1985, during the war between Iraq and Iran. After the American invasion in 2003, he started out as a filmmaker. The camera protected him from the insanity of the violence. In 2007, he left his city. Writer and journalist Chris Keulemans grew up in Baghdad in the sixties, due to his father’s work. He felt his way along the pictograms on the walls of the oldest library in the world, learned how to swim at the chic Al-Wiyah Club and hang around with the Bedouin kids in the neighborhood.

Keulemans and Khaled share their place of birth, but there is a world of difference. Last year, they both returned for the first time. In this documentary theatre show, they exchange images and experiences: burning cars and gunfire in the chaos of 2005, but also Baghdad in days long gone: a peaceful city with palm trees and parks.

Are they telling the truth? Have they kept their memories intact or are they poisoned? Baghdad is a show about boys who chase butterflies and men who murder, about the party lights on the riverboats in the Tigris and a crazy kidnapping in the Baghdad of today, about pain and paradise. 

Running time: 1h 15’
Performed in English with Hungarian and Romanian surtitles, as well as simultaneous translation

Created and performed by Enkidu Khaled and Chris Keulemans
Soundscape and live music: Ata Güner
Video: Dhyaa Joda
Set design: Hussein Shabeeb
Installation: Moayed Joda
Dramaturg: Lara Staal
Artistic advisor: Joachim Robbrecht

Produced with the support of Flanders State of the Art.