The political theatre in the Arab world emerged from rough seas of opposition and state monitoring schemes. Some critics may claim that political tendencies in Arab theatre can be traced to the early contributors to A...The political theatre in the Arab world emerged from rough seas of opposition and state monitoring schemes. Some critics may claim that political tendencies in Arab theatre can be traced to the early contributors to Arab theatre Others attribute the emergence of this theatre to the revolution of Egypt＇s Nasir. However, the Syrian playwright Sa＇d Allah Wannus may be viewed as the true representative of this kind of theatre in the Arab world. Shocked by the defeat of the Arabs by Israel in 1967, he began what he coined ＂theatre of politicization＂, aiming to attack Arab governments and blaming them for the defeat, and at the same time, insighting his audience to revolt against existing political ideas. In this kind of theatre, the audience assumed ever-increasing importance. Wannus wrote several plays, the aim of which was to develop a mentality and strengthen a collective consciousness in an Arab historical context. This article aims to exploring the concept of theatre of politicization and the impact of that on Arab political theatre展开更多
When discussing the roots of Arab theatre, we find ourselves confronting two main streams of thought. The first one, represented by prominent Arab writers like Najib Mahfuz, Abbas A1-Aqqad, M. Badawi, and other critic...When discussing the roots of Arab theatre, we find ourselves confronting two main streams of thought. The first one, represented by prominent Arab writers like Najib Mahfuz, Abbas A1-Aqqad, M. Badawi, and other critics, rejects the theory that an Arab theatre existed before the mid-19th century. The second stream, represented by prominent scholars like Ali A1-Rai, Ibrahim Hamada and S. Moreh, see modern Arab theatre as part of a continuum, emphasizing of some elements of dramatic manifestations in Arab literary heritage. This paper intends to examine these two streams, their evidences and arguments. Such examination will shed some light on the origin of Arab theatre as a literary genre, and how it was influenced, if any, by Western theatrical heritage. Thus, answering the main question of this paper, whether Arab theatre is original or simply a Western imitation.展开更多
文摘The political theatre in the Arab world emerged from rough seas of opposition and state monitoring schemes. Some critics may claim that political tendencies in Arab theatre can be traced to the early contributors to Arab theatre Others attribute the emergence of this theatre to the revolution of Egypt＇s Nasir. However, the Syrian playwright Sa＇d Allah Wannus may be viewed as the true representative of this kind of theatre in the Arab world. Shocked by the defeat of the Arabs by Israel in 1967, he began what he coined ＂theatre of politicization＂, aiming to attack Arab governments and blaming them for the defeat, and at the same time, insighting his audience to revolt against existing political ideas. In this kind of theatre, the audience assumed ever-increasing importance. Wannus wrote several plays, the aim of which was to develop a mentality and strengthen a collective consciousness in an Arab historical context. This article aims to exploring the concept of theatre of politicization and the impact of that on Arab political theatre
文摘When discussing the roots of Arab theatre, we find ourselves confronting two main streams of thought. The first one, represented by prominent Arab writers like Najib Mahfuz, Abbas A1-Aqqad, M. Badawi, and other critics, rejects the theory that an Arab theatre existed before the mid-19th century. The second stream, represented by prominent scholars like Ali A1-Rai, Ibrahim Hamada and S. Moreh, see modern Arab theatre as part of a continuum, emphasizing of some elements of dramatic manifestations in Arab literary heritage. This paper intends to examine these two streams, their evidences and arguments. Such examination will shed some light on the origin of Arab theatre as a literary genre, and how it was influenced, if any, by Western theatrical heritage. Thus, answering the main question of this paper, whether Arab theatre is original or simply a Western imitation.
