This corner stands with an Arab cultural figure in quick questions regarding her concerns, her new productions, and some of what she would like to share with her followers. “My choice to work in the theater cost me a lot, and I would not back down from it,” the Lebanese playwright, activist and researcher said in her interview with The New Arab.
■ What keeps you busy these days?
– I am attending tours in Europe for three works in which I participated as an actress and a performer, namely: a theatrical performance entitled “Maybe and May” by Christel Khader, and a dance performance entitled “If He Falls” by Ali Shahrour, in addition to the play “Jugging”.
■ What is your last work and what is your next work?
The last play I wrote and acted in is “Jugging”, which is still touring in Lebanon and abroad. I am also working on a book documenting the experience of the Lebanese Storyteller Theatre, as part of a project entitled “Dramatik” that I started working on years ago, and is concerned with electronic archiving of theatrical experiences in Lebanon.
■ Are you satisfied with your production and why?
– Thank God; I am satisfied with my production because I respect it and give it all the required time and effort, and I have not made concessions regarding the quality of work.
■ If you had to start over, which path would you choose?
– I would have chosen the same path, even if my answer seemed cliché. My choice to devote myself to theater came following a grueling experience during which I majored in biology – to please my father – and taught in this field for 12 years. However, my passion for the art of theater and its impact made me face a fierce battle to impose this choice of mine.
■ What change do you expect or want in the world?
To be a world where justice prevails!
■ A character from the past that you would like to meet, and why her?
– I wish it was possible to meet three people at the same time, and to conduct a dialogue with them and among themselves: the philosopher Ibn Rushd, the poet Abu Al-Ala Al-Ma’arri, and Mrs. Zainab, the sister of Imam Al-Hussein. I leave the readers to guess why.
■ A friend that comes to mind or a book that you always return to?
– The Holy Quran.
■ What are you reading now?
– The book “In Athar Enayat Al-Zayyat” by the Egyptian Iman Mersal, as well as the last two texts by the Syrian playwright Wael Qadro: “A Brave Heart” and “The Chronicles of a City We Do Not Know.”
■ What are you listening to now, and do you suggest a singing or musical experience that we can share with you?
– The experience of Lebanese rapper Mazen Al-Sayed, nicknamed “The Head”.
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A Lebanese theatrical artist, activist, and researcher, born in 1958. In addition to her theatrical work, which she began in 1978 with the show “From Tales of 1936”; She is also a teacher in the Department of Theater Studies at the Institute for Audiovisual and Film Studies (IESAV) of Saint Joseph University in Beirut. She edited and authored books and publications on cultural and artistic research and cultural policies, and participated as an actress in many cinematic works. Among her latest theatrical engagements and participations: “Jugging” (2018), written and acted by her, “Maybe and May” (2022), by Christel Khadr, and “If It Falls” (2023), by Ali Shahrour.