A musical comedy that premiered in Beirut, introduces Ramadan traditions in a number of Arab countries.
She recalls with much nostalgia the joy that marked the month of fasting in the Lebanese capital, which is mired in a severe economic and living crisis.
With some cold licorice drink, drums, tambourines, “welcome”, poems and songs of joy, everyone who enters the “Madina Theater” is welcomed to attend the play entitled “If Ramadan returns to a long time”.
Awad Awad, the Palestinian theater director residing in Lebanon, describes his work to Agence France-Presse as a “Ramadan nostalgia”.
He says, “We present an entertaining work that pushes the audience to remember beautiful things.”
In the theater, whose entrance walls are decorated with carpets, cords of colored fabric clippings are hung, and platforms for selling sweets, beans, cakes, gowns and handicrafts are spread in its courtyards, Awad stresses that “Ramadan is beautiful with the gathering of family and friends,” but he notes that “the bond is no longer the same, nor the innocence the same.” .
The 28-year-old director adds, “We gather on the stage with the audience. It’s like a small breakfast or a big suhoor to sing with him and make him happy,” in light of the worst economic crisis in Lebanon’s modern history that led to a record decline in the value of the national currency against the dollar, and the collapse of the purchasing power of most citizens Poverty rates have increased, and the consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian war have intensified.
The play recalls the rituals of the past Ramadan and the songs associated with it through the experience of Abu Sobhi (Sami Hamdan) and Abu Rima (Tariq Tamim), two magicians who retired from the profession of waking up fasting people by beating the drum before the time of constipation, to eat Suhoor.
They are joined by a contemporary of mystics who are also interested in retiring after the parameters of the profession have changed, as the “time of sahir” has passed and was replaced by “the time of desertification”, according to what Abu Rima says in the play.
Amid the decoration in the form of a spacious Ramadan tent, the plot of the play begins, as the Abu Rima and Abu Sobhi families gather to eat Suhoor, but the granddaughter insists on hearing the sound of the magician.
Actors travel on stage and among the audience in pajamas to add intimacy and simplicity to the work atmosphere.
Awad describes his play as “the synthesis”, and it includes about 20 songs distributed between the Aleppo Qudoud, the Egyptian and Tunisian Ramadans, and the advertisement songs that were permeated with the Ramadan series and were printed over the years.
The play recalls Ramadan customs in the neighborhoods of Damascus, Beirut, Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia, and Palestinian cities.
The work includes young actors from Syria, Tunisia, Palestine and Lebanon, and musicians on stage.
Awad explains that “every actor pays tribute to Ramadan, which he lives in his country, within one story.” The dervish dance, which is performed in the theater courtyard, is not absent before the audience leaves.
The young director, who ran the “Mishkal” theater festival for seven sessions, explains that “the features of the Ramadan scene differ from one country to another, but the traditions are the same in the Arab world, where the family meets in fasting.”
He adds, “We focused on the social and humanitarian aspect for this month and did not delve into religion.”