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Al-Ahram Weekly 31 August - 6 September 2000 Issue No. 497 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 31 August - 6 September 2000 Issue No. 497
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Around the merry-go-round
By Nehad SelaihaPredictable, it being the year 2000, that the refreshing, if somewhat disorienting verbal whirlwind (which annually accompanies the Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre in the form of a multi-national, overcrowded symposium) should have for its axis this year the overambitious, resounding title: "Major Experimental Trends in 20th Century Theatre". With over 21 participants from all over the world and three elaborate major topics (different trends in stage-directing; variant forms in the structure of text/performance; the role of laboratories, studios and workshops in developing acting techniques), the symposium, which begins on 2 September at 11 am, will continue over three mornings at the conference hall of the Supreme Council for Culture in the Opera grounds. The hall, though somewhat cramped in space, is air-conditioned, with tea, coffee and cakes in plentiful supply, and a cosy little cafe nearby if you need a break from all the hullabaloo inside or a place for a leisurely chat with some long absent old acquaintance. On 5 September, at the same venue, a round-table involving 14 more speakers will be held at 11 am to ponder the future of theatre in the 21st century.
Most people, however, prefer to see theatre rather than hear it discussed and with so much on offer this year one would do well not to fritter away one's strength. Apart from Egypt, which will present two productions in the competition (still unnamed at the time of writing), plus several others on the fringe, including Walid Aouni's recent spectacular Shahrezad (as he prefers to spell it) which will be back at the big hall of the Opera house on 3 September, as many as 17 productions from 13 Arab countries will be taking part. Of these, I highly recommend the Lebanese Three Tall Women, adapted from Edward Albee's famous play and directed by the indefatigably imaginative and unflaggingly creative Nidal El-Ashqar. Apart from the intriguing web of complex relationships which entangles the three women, identifying them as one at several points despite the great disparity in their ages, this production (which I saw in Tunis four months ago) boasts some truly stunning acting, and its fine balance of broad comedy and deep pathos, its daring and ruthless baring of the women's souls and generous, affectionate understanding of their tragic failings are difficult to match anywhere in the Arab world.
Another Arab show the quality of which I can safely vouch for, having already seen it also in Tunis, is the Syrian Aysha. Its young director, Rolla Fattal, is not new to the festival, and the two previous works she brought to Cairo, particularly her Ismael/Hamlet, have won her many enthusiastic admirers. In Aysha, a one-woman starring Maha El-Saleh and centering on the oppression of women in the Arab world, Fattal, who also designs her sets, making them an integral part of the drama, displays the same uncanny feeling for atmosphere which marked her earlier shows and the same versatility in manipulating lighting and stage props to produce powerful and stirring images. For the poor eponymous Aysha, like Dickens's Miss Haversham in Great Expectations, time has stopped at the moment her lover deserted her on their wedding day. She keeps on her white wedding dress under a dowdy black coat and as she delves into her large, old chest to fetch her many rag dolls one after the other, each representing a person in her life, the past unfolds with all its violence and horror.
Other Arab shows which may be worth trying for are: the Lebanese Archipelago, directed by Roger Assaf; Morocco's The Zoo Story, another Albee play; and, of course, in view of the country's reputation for good theatre, Tunisia's Eden..Eden. I am quite looking forward to Iraq's Heaven Opens its Door...Late. It is the first Iraqi production to visit Cairo since the tragic events of 1990 and the subsequent isolation of the country. In the eighties, when Iraq was at war with Iran, I attended two theatre festivals in Baghdad and was amazed at the quality of theatre produced in untoward circumstances. Later on, in the nineties, I saw Iraqi productions in Jordan and Tunisia and my amazement ripened into awed respect. Impoverished, oppressed and fighting for survival on a daily basis, one wonders how these artists have managed to preserve their artistic stamina and guard their integrity. The plight of Iraqi theatre artists will be ironically underlined in the festival by the presence of expatriate Iraqi director, Qasim Mohamed, who currently lives in the United Arab Emirates but has been in Cairo for the past two months conducting a workshop at Al-Hanager and working on a new production called Risalat at-Teyr (Epistle of the Birds). Based on three famous classical texts -- Risalat at-Teyr by al-Ghazali, the 11th century Persian theologian and mystic; another Risalat at-Teyr by Avicenna (980-1037); and the allegorical poem, Manteq at-Teyr (The Conference of the Birds) by the mystical poet and thinker Farid ed-Din Attar (1142-1220) -- the present Epistle, written by Qasim Mohamed himself, is given pronounced political overtones: the perilous journey undertaken by the birds in search of salvation becomes here a quest for freedom from tyrants and dictators. The Epistle will perform twice during the festival and could very well represent Egypt if nothing better turns up; but do not worry if you miss it in the hectic days of the festival; it is destined for a long run after the flurry has died down. Algeria, another Arab country which once had a thriving theatrical movement before it was overrun by terror, is bringing two shows, Harmonica and Abel & Abel; they are probably worth a look if you have the time.
Three Tall Women (Lebanon)
Of foreign shows, I have it on good authority that Poland's Dong from the theatre-cinema company, written, directed and designed by Zbigniew Szumski, and inspired by the poetry of Edward Lear and the paintings of René Magritte, is not to be missed. From the synopsis it sounds like a zany, mind-boggling show where the imagination has been allowed to run wild. It is described as "a stunning visual composition, experimental in the full sense of the word, using the simplest of objects to create a complex and intricate artistic language." We are promised a sky filled with bowler hats, gigantic birds, winged fish and floating human organs. Dong can be seen both at the opening of the festival at the big hall of the Opera House on 1 September and also on the following day at the same venue. Also highly commended by the few lucky persons who saw all the shows on video before the festival are Switzerland's A Piece of the Heart and Gopf; Germany's Kudu Bilch by the Jakobus Theater in der Fabrik; Bulgaria's To Find the Way and I Faust Mephisto; and Romania's Nasterea and Night Traveller.
Tips are of course useful if you only like quality theatre. It is a big mistake however not to target variety as well. Watching plays from countries off the international theatrical highway, like Burkina Faso, for example, or Kazakhstan, can be lots of fun. And judging by previous years, theatre from Latin America, Asia and the Far East is invariably interesting in one way or another. Therefore, try to find a place on your viewing schedule for Japan's Castle-Tower Tale, Singapore's The Painted House, Usbekstan's The Great Silk Road, Argentina's Lunario, Mexico's The Embrace, and South Korea's Hang Joong Rock. With 65 shows from 44 different countries to choose from, you are bound to find something you like, and though the wave of experimenting on the classics, quite prominent in previous years, seems to have receded, there is at least one show, the Greek Orestia! Fragments of a Tragic Language, to cater for the lovers of this trend.
For a full programme, see On stage
Related sories:
A question of merit 16 - 22 September 1999
Geisha with wings 9 - 15 September 1999
