The 24th edition of the Carthage Theatre Days (JTC) will take place without the festive side, due to the exceptional situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and the war on Gaza that has been going on since October 7. The programme for this 2023 edition, which will take place from December 2 to 10, in various venues across the capital, was presented on Saturday at a press conference held at the City of Culture. This year's programme includes a selection of 62 shows from 28 countries around the world. The shows are divided into 16 sections, including Colloquia, Workshops, JTC Rendezvous, Paths, Screening, Expo and Cap. The JTC Steering Committee, chaired by theatre maker Moez Mrabet, has decided to drop the festive aspect of the opening and closing ceremonies. The programme will include performances, conferences and training workshops for theatre professionals. A Spanish performance 'Finale' (Spain) will be presented on the façade of the Tunis Municipal Theatre at 17.30, where the official openin g ceremony will take place at 18.30. The JTC will return to the Tunis Municipal Theatre, after four editions at the Tunis Opera Theatre, located in the City of Culture, which will host an evening performance of 'The Jungle Book' by American director Robert Wilson (20:30). During the official ceremony at the Municipal Theatre, a posthumous tribute will be paid to four figures of the 4th Tunisian Art: Moncef Charfedine, Mohamed Kdous Abdelghani Ben Tara, Rim Hamrouni and Lassaad Mehwachi. Several Arab and African personalities will be honoured at the opening, including Abderraouf Basti, Sawssan Badr, Nidhal Al Achkar, Roger Assef and Hanan Haj Ali (Masrah Dawar Al Shams - Beirout), Amin Zendaghni, Ilham Einali Hamidi, Yaya Coulibaly and Nejia Ouerghi. There will also be a series of tributes to Alougbine Aledji Dine, Manuela Soiero, Paul Chaoul, Houcine Mahnouch, Faouzia Mezzi, Daoud Hassine, Youssef Aedabi, El Hameyem El Bidh, Mongi Ouerfelli, Souad Mahassen and Jalila Madeni. The official competition inclu des 11 plays (11) and 24 parallel performances (24). These are shows in the section open to Tunisian, Arab and African professional theatre structures. The jury for the official competition is chaired by Tunisian Wahid Essafi and includes Pierre Abi Saab (Lebanon), João Branco (Cape Verde), Naima Zitan (Morocco) and Odile Katese (Rwanda). Moez Mrabet, Director General of the Tunisian National Theatre (TNT), is the Artistic Director and Chairman of the Organising Committee for this 2023 edition of the JTC. The TNT has long been responsible for the organisation of the JTC, from its creation in 1983 until 2009. Until then it was entrusted to a body independent of TNT and this since 2011. This year, TNT is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its creation. To mark the occasion, the festival is inaugurating the first edition of JTCap, the city's first market dedicated to the exchange and fusion of art and commerce. JTCap aims to foster global collaborations and expand exchange networks between artists from the Arab and African worlds and entertainment professionals from around the world. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse