Theater going public

[Xxxx Xxxxx Xxxxxx <xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.cairotimes.com/

Al Jadid Vol. 2, No. 8 (June 1996).

Wanous' Perspective on Theater: A Balance Between Nationalist Tradition
and Universalism

by Fatme Sharafeddine Hassan*

In 1959, at 18 years of age, Sa'dallah Wanous received his Baccalaureate
degree in Tartus, Syria, and then headed for Egypt to study Journalism
at Cairo University. During his stay in Egypt, he became interested
specifically in theater, voraciously reading works by European and
American playwrights. His readings included plays in existentialist
traditions and the theater of the absurd; he was also attracted to
critical literature about theater.

Al-Adab magazine, a Lebanese literary publication, had a great impact on
Wanous's approach to theater, especially when in the early 1960's it
translated and published works by existentialists like Albert Camus and
Jean Paul Sartre. The influence of these two is apparent in Wanous'
early plays such as Juthah ala al-Rasif [Corpse on the Sidewalk] and
Fasd al-Dam [Blood Letting].

After completing his studies in Egypt, Wanous left for France and the
Sorbonne. In France, he broadened his readings and acquainted himself
with various schools of theater. His interest in the works of socialist
playwrights like Peter Weiss and Bertlot Brecht began in the wake of the
Arab defeat in 1967, an event that was a turning point in Wanous'
approach to theater. For the Syrian playwright, socialism was the
solution to the problems afflicting Arab societies.

Despite his interest in and knowledge of western literature, Wanous did
not mechanically reproduce European ideas and methods in the Arabic
theater. In fact, he worked on producing a theater that reflects the
peculiar needs of an Arab audience. His interest in the politics of the
Arab world made him aware of the importance of theater in society. This
is the reason his theatrical works aim at "educating the masses." In an
interview with Al Masrah magazine, Wanous stated that theater cannot be
effective in a society if it avoids social, political, and economic
questions. He also added: "No theater should be without an ideology
unless it does not want to be effective in society and it declines
reaching the moment of deep interaction with the audience."

The close relationship between Wanous and his audience explains, in
large part, his overwhelming concern with the social, economic,
educational and personal needs of the theater-going public. In his
works, the message comes after deciding who the audience is; only such
an approach can insure the maximum interaction between the theatrical
performance and the audience. Believing that theater should make people
think and change, he focuses his attention on devising the best
techniques that allow the audience to react to the events and the
message.

Wanous was interested in Brecht's technique of alienation which aims at
leading the spectators to think rather than to feel. The theater must
make it apparent to the spectators that they are not witnessing real
events, but rather, they are watching events that happened in the past
at a certain time in a certain place. The goal is for the audience to
grasp the message by thinking about how the events reflect their own
reality. He wants the audience to stop playing the passive role of a
receptor. The spectators should be aware that what is happening in the
theater is related to them in one way or another.

Elements of Wanous' views on Arabic theater are well developed in his
published works. He is known for his advice to fellow Arab playwrights
to utilize their knowledge of the audience's viewing habits while
creating theater. He also cautioned against introducing the element of
folklore into theater. Whenever it undermines the content of the play,
folklore should be left out, regardless of its pivotal cultural role, he
argues.

Unlike some Arab playwrights, like Yusuf Idris and Tawfiq Al-Hakim, who
attempted a parochial approach to theater by shunning Western influence,
Wanous took issue with such views. "We should not forget that the human
heritage is our heritage, and that what has been realized in the
universal theater belongs to us as much as it belongs to others."
Realism marks Wanous contentions with what may be called
nationalist-parochial school. He warns the critics calling for an Arabic
nationalist theater that ridding Arabic theater from Western influence
is a slow and cumulative process. o

*Fatme Sharafeddine Hassan is an assistant editor of Al Jadid

--

Xxxx Xxxxx Xxxxxx
PhD Student
Department of Political Science
SUNY at Albany
Nelson A. Rockefeller College
135 Western Ave.; Milne 102
Albany, NY 12222



____________NetZero Free Internet Access and Email_________
Download Now     http://www.netzero.net/download/index.html
Request a CDROM  1-800-333-3633
___________________________________________________________