Taha Adnan (1970) is originally from Marrakech and has lived in Brussels since 1996 where he works for the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles. Co-founder of the magazine'L'Algarade poétique' in the 1990s, he is a member of the Union des écrivains du Maroc and the Collectif de poètes bruxellois.
His first collection of poems is published by the Ministry of Culture in Morocco. A French translation'Transparences' was published in 2006 by L'Arbre à Paroles in Liège. His book of poems'Akrah al-hob' was published by Dar Nahda in Beirut in 2009, then in a French translation 'Je hais l'amour' in Casablanca in February 2010 and a Spanish translation 'Odio el amor' in Costa Rica in April of the same year.
His play 'Bye Bye Gillo' won second prize in the Emirates International Arab Monodrama Competition in 2011. Then, it was among three texts selected by the European project ‘Dramaturgie arabe contemporaine’. It is staged and presented by the Palestinian theatre Al-Harah in the official programme of Marseille-Provence, European Capital of Culture 2013.
In 2014, the Dutch version is co-produced by Moussem and the Flemish theatre Arsenaal under the direction of Belgian playwright Michael de Cock. In 2016, an Italian version was produced and presented by'La Compagnia Italiana di Prosa- Genova' under the direction of Elena Siri.
Bye Bye Gillo' was published in 2013 in a bilingual Arabic-French publication by Elyzad Publishing in Tunis. The text also appeared in French and Italian. Taha Adnan has published two collective works ‘Bruxelles, la marocaine’ (Le Fennec, 2015) and ‘Ceci n’est pas une valise’ (La Croisée des Chemins, 2016). His latest book of poetry ‘Ton sourire est plus beau que le drapeau national’ was published by Al Mutawassit (Milan, 2016).
Taha and Moussem have been working together for many years. In 2013, he takes part in a colloquium as part of the L'arabe de service project. In 2014, he coordinates a literary salon on literature from the Moroccan migration and participates in the Felix Poetry Festival. That same year, Bye Bye Gillo premieres, a Moussem production based on his first theatrical text. Taha also participates in the successful youth production UMM (2015). In 2016 he is a guest at the annual Sufi Night. In 2017, Moussem and BOZAR present Ceci n'est pas une valise, based on the book of the same name compiled by Taha. In 2018 he is commissioned by Moussem to write a new play, 'Donia', and is artist in residence at Hammana Artist House, Moussem's partner in Lebanon. During the Masrah festival he presents a lecture of Donia.
