"The Speaker's Progress" play by al Bassam in Kuwait

Slaiman al Bassam strikes again with a new version of a Shakespearian tale in a modern arab setting. In al Shamiyah theatre in Kuwait, the play has been delivered for 4 days. The plot is a complex remake of a 1963 movie in a hypothetical repressive regime. The main subject is about the lack of expression at all levels in such repression; the theatre and the acting business are the first to suffer from a regimented form of what is really permitted.

Al Bassam, a Kuwaiti director, started this production last year at the brink of the "Arab spring" when Tunisia, Egypt and others had started their public revolts and were undergoing a major transformation. At that time, the wind of freedom was too sweet, too strong and it was difficult to see any returning back to a repressive mode. The play was read and seen as part of history that we needed to remind ourselves could exist.

A year later, al Bassam and his team continues the presentation with as much conviction and passion. Costumes are all thought off with details. Sound is as crisp and relevant. Yet the spectator cannot but pause and reflect.

In a local newspaper "al Qabass", an article was written on friday 11th of may 2012 to comment on the play: nothing concerning acting, drama, plot, setting. The only subject that mattered was how the "National Council for Culture and Arts" was divided into two groups : the commission for censorship on theatre was not satisfied with the play while the administration for the National council reassured of the play's validity.

The irony lies here: the lady in charge was confirming that the play is against the law on plays and theatre since the director did not take note of any changes demanded of him from the censorship commission.
As if the "Speaker's Progress" was continuing in real life, and needed to be documented in the papers.
Same words used here and there: the law, the interference of minders, the officials, the devious and un-compliant director, the responsibility of presenting a play that is not in full accordance with the law or the understanding of the commission

Bravo for al Bassam and his team on giving a true sense of reality. Great work, fantastic performance, and the plot goes on : freedom is fragile in the swirls of a repressive hurricane.

Sulayman al-Bassam latest play in Kuwait

A new play by the director, Sulayman al Bassam, showed at the Dar al Athar al Islamiyah.

Inspired by the Shakespearian "Twelfth Night", it involved a plot about mistaken identity. Al Bassem added another of layer of confusion, with the play done today in a context of repressive system where music, gender proximity, dance, love, freedom of thought and freedom of speech are totally banned. Then al Bassam acts in the play as a reformed director trying to look back in the recent history, before the repressive system and digs up an old archive on a production of the "twelfth night" in the 60's. He then tries to reconstitute the production given the boundaries of the repressive system with a full fledge sarcastic, ironic twist.

Al Bassam is a maestro in plugging Kuwaiti traditional symbols with an arab context. He takes a classic and gives it a modern, arab, kuwaiti flair for a complete resonance to the current socio-political scene in Kuwait. The actors carry out the message with brio. The setting, decor and costumes are always in full harmony and complementing perfectly the play. His previous plays were "Richard the Third", "Romeo and Juliet" and many others. 

However, this time, the convoluted and added confusion on references to the repression were slightly overbearing. Al- Bassam must be really worried about repression and is trying to express an unease without unleashing real issues. He could do with a little more naked expression.

Photo Romance - Rabih Mroue, Lina Saneh

Rabih Mroue and Lina Saneh are showing their theatre / video / performance: "Photo Romance" in Paris at the Parc de la Villette until 24th of April 2010. They have good reviews in medias in France and internationally on their artistic activities. Their subject in this recent work is about identity of a man and a woman in search of answers about the major fault lines of conflict and existence in Lebanon: religion, ideas, politics, masculin virility, women's role, freedom, reality...
Will you be in Paris to see this performance?
It might take a long time before any of this can be shown in the Gulf. It might be too tricky or too adventurous.

Arabesque Washington Dc

Theatre, music, dance, installations, art, poetry, discussions ... all in the Kennedy center in Washington Dc until the 15th of march as the festival of Arts of the Arab World.
The Slaiman al Bassam's troup performed their interpretation of Richard the third, with an arab twist and modernity to the classic. In arabic, with translation, the play is full of several levels of understanding and full of surprises: politics, leadership, religion, foreign intervention... It has been shown three nights in Kuwait and has been touring around the world from Paris to Damsacus and after the US to Sharjah and al Ain UAE. It takes a lot of audacity to speak out in covered words a full description of the waters that runs deep. It takes style to do it well and present it with eloquence, dramatic settings, costumes...
They came back with a sense of satisfaction, sold out for the two nights.

Could we hope to see it in Kuwait for as many nights as it was shown outside Kuwait?

http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/festivals/08-09/arabesque/

Theatre in Prison

"Twelve angry Lebanese Men" a classic play in theatre, movies, organizational behavior studies, drama therapy... directed by Zeina Daccache, to perform in the known prison of Roumiyeh Lebanon. Actors are prisoners themselves that have been selected from different nationalities.
A year ago, Roumiyeh was in the news for a mutiny and crack down by force. Today, Roumiyeh has the buzz of the place to see. Can you get tickets for the latest play? overbooked? How can you get in there?
The choice of the play is quite significant: "as inmates questioned the country's judicial system, talked about prison conditions and told personal tales through their adaptation of Twelve Angry Men, a play by Reginald Rose in which a jury of 12 men meets to decide the fate of a boy who is accused of murder" (BBC)
Every sat from feb 7th to mid March. A thrilling experience worth the effort. An invitation to allow small changes that might question the status quo and improve level of human expression.