Location
Studio Varia
Duration
1 hour 5 minutes
Languages
Français
Prices
Public
Ages 16 and over
Accessibility
pmr accompagnant
pmr
02—06.02.2027

Cliché

Hakim Bouacha

Theater

Cliché is the collection of homophobic and racist stereotypes that shape who we areboth those we embrace and those we resist. Hakim Bouacha returns with a one-man show that pokes fun at everything and everyone, showcasing the full extent of his immense talent as an actor.

Dates and Times

Tickets
Tickets
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Summary

Mahmoud is a young, gay Arab teenager living in precarious circumstances, who takes advantage of his brother’s absence—he’s gone off to play football—to enjoy a little freedom in their shared bedroom. There, in that cramped space, he immerses himself in his own world, a universe set to the rhythm of Beyoncé’s music, which provides a backdrop to his solitude.

In the middle of a small, pale pink bedroom, Hakim Bouacha seems to pull a good dozen characters out of his hat. Through a scarf tied around his neck, a slightly forced cheekiness or a caricatured mannerism, he playfully mimics the people who have populated his life. From memory to memory, from cliché to cliché, he humorously lays bare the stigmas he has borne the brunt of. He admits to having embraced some and struggled with others; nevertheless, these stereotypes say more about those who created them than about the young Mahmoud. A whole world comes to life through the portrayal of this brilliant actor, as sharp as he is tender. His confessions are punctuated by covers, including those of Mylène Farmer, drawing on a range of styles on stage and revealing the rich repertoire of a versatile performer.

Starting from the stereotypes that cling to him, Hakim Bouacha indulges in a free, touching, irreverent, almost sociological fiction about the construction of a complex identity.

Sidonie Pagès

Sincere, authentic and generous on stage, Hakim Bouacha is as moving as he is a brilliant performer. For just over an hour, he plays, raps, sings and dances – in heels, no less, to Beyoncé!

Stéphanie Bocart, La Libre, 26 February 2026

A biting one-man show, featuring a cast of characters as funny as they are revealing, blending rap, Beyoncé and Mylène Farmer.

Catherine Makereel, Le Soir, 2 March 2026
Cast



Written, directed and performed by Hakim Bouacha
Assistant director and sound design by Armand Droz-Vincent Vocal coaching: Marcelle De Cooman
Dramaturgy: Joey Elmaleh
Choreography and stage movement: Mehdi Mojahid
Set design: Milena Forest External consultation: Jacqueline Bollen, Thibaut Nève
Set construction: Milena Forest, Clémentine Gomez 

Credits

Produced by Espace Magh. Co-produced with Altim Prod SRL, BEL ARTS FUND and Théâtre Varia. With the support of Taxshelter.be and the Belgian federal government’s tax shelter scheme. 
This production was made possible thanks to the involvement and support of many people and partners. Special thanks to Das Fräulein (Kompanie), Baptiste Meneghin, Jérôme Lehideux El Glaoui, Vaisseau Mère, Benoît Sokolowski, Madeleine de Hagen, Daria Bubalo, Frauleine Kompanie, Wouter Mees, Thibaut Nève, Jacqueline Bollen, Nicolas Guerraz, Charlaine Dumord, Julien Ouvrard, Guillemette Chevrot, the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, the Ministry of Culture and the Belgian Federal Government’s Tax Shelter scheme. 

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