Articles

The 2015 Egyptian National Theatre Festival

The 2015 Egyptian National Theatre Festival
By Dalia Basiouny
Arab StagesVolume 2, Number 1 (Fall 2015)
©2015 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

The Egyptian National Theatre Festival started its eighth iteration with a full fare of …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 3 | Comments closed

Tayeb Saddiki and the Re-invention of Tradition in Contemporary Moroccan Theatre: An Obituary

Tayeb Saddiki and the Re-invention of Tradition
in Contemporary Moroccan Theatre
An Obituary by Khalid Amine & Marvin Carlson
Arab Stages, Volume 2, Number 2 (Spring 2016)
©2016 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

Tayeb Saddiki (1938- 2016) was …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 4 | Comments closed

The 2016 Cairo International Festival for Contemporary and Experimental Theatre

The 2016 Cairo International Festival for Contemporary and Experimental Theatre
A Theatre Review by Karen Malpede
Arab Stages, Volume 5, Number 1 (Fall, 2016)
2016 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center PublicationIn Egypt, as in most of the rest of 
Also posted in Reviews, Volume 5 | Comments closed

Editors Note: Nehad Selaiha

Editors Note: Nehad Selaiha 
By Marvin Carlson
Arab Stages, Volume 6, Nehad Selaiha Memorial Issue (Spring, 2017)
©2017 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

On January 6, 2017, the Arab theatre world lost one of its best-known, beloved, …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 6 | Comments closed

The 2016 Journées Théâtrales de Carthage

The 2016 Journées Théâtrales de Carthage
By Marvin Carlson
Arab Stages, Volume 7 (Fall, 2017)
©2017 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

One of the most highly respected theatre festivals of the Arab world is the Journées Théâtrales …

Also posted in Reviews, Volume 7 | Comments closed

A Space to Meet and Share: A Corner in the World Fest 3 from Istanbul

A Space to Meet and Share: A Corner in the World Fest 3 from Istanbul
By Eylem Ejder
Arab Stages, Volume 8 (Spring, 2018) 
©2018 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

Istanbul has a fascinating, brand-new performing arts festival, …

Also posted in Reviews, Volume 8 | Comments closed

Obituary: Hazem Azmi (1969-2018) This is not an obituary.

Obituary: Hazem Azmi (1969-2018) This is not an obituary.
By Nora Amin
Arab Stages, Volume 9 (Fall, 2018) 
©2018 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

This is not an obituary. I am not writing about Hazem Azmi because he …

Also posted in Volume 9 | Comments closed

In Memoriam: Sami Abdul-Hamid

Sami Abdul-Hamid, one of the most significant directors of the modern Iraqi theatre, died on Sunday, 29 September 2019, at the age of 91. He was born in Samaqah, Iraq, in 1928 and studied theatre in London and the United …

Also posted in Announcements, Volume 11 | Comments closed

Damascus Theater Laboratory

Damascus Theatre Lab
Damascus Theater Laboratory
By Waseem Al Sharqy
Translated by Meriem Harbi
Arab StagesVolume 2, Number 1 (Fall 2015)
©2015 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

A Long Theater’s Journey Into Night

“There will come a time when …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 3 | Comments closed

The Local Otherness: Theatre Houses in the United Arab Emirates

The Local Otherness: Theatre Houses in the
United Arab Emirates 
By Ziad Adwan
Arab Stages, Volume 2, Number 2 (Spring 2016)
©2016 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

Abstract

This article examines the function of theatre houses in the …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 4 | Comments closed

A Crime on Restaurant Street

A Crime on Restaurant Street
A Play by Wajdi Al-Ahdal
Translated from the Arabic by Katherine Hennessey
Arab StagesVolume 5, Number 1 (Fall 2016) 
©2016 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

Introduction to A Crime on Restaurant 
Also posted in Short Plays, Volume 5 | Comments closed

A Place Under the Sun: To Be or Not to Be? The Question of the “Fringe” (1990)

A Place Under the Sun To Be or Not to Be? The Question of the “Fringe” (1990)
By Nehad Selaiha
Arab Stages, Volume 6, Nehad Selaiha Memorial Issue (Spring, 2017)
©2017 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

Last …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 6 | Comments closed

Jawad Al-Assadi’s Women in War: Troubling, Troubled and Troublesome Female Refugees

Jawad Al-Assadi’s Women in War: Troubling, Troubled and Troublesome Female Refugees
By Hadeel Abdelhameed
Arab Stages, Volume 7 (Fall, 2017)
©2017 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

Women in War (first published in 2003) is a play written …

Also posted in Reviews, Volume 7 | Comments closed

Theatre Elsewhere: The Dialogues of Alterity

Theatre Elsewhere: The Dialogues of Alterity
By Sepideh Shokri Poori
Arab Stages, Volume 8 (Spring, 2018) 
©2018 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

The questioning nature of human beings has challenged theatre for a long. Therefore, more than any …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 8 | Comments closed

Re-writing Theatre History, Performing Forgotten: Three Examples from Istanbul Stages

Re-writing Theatre History, Performing Forgotten: Three Examples from Istanbul Stages
By Eylem Ejder
Arab Stages, Volume 9 (Fall, 2018) 
©2018 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

Theatre in Turkey has arguably changed a lot in recent years if we …

Also posted in Volume 9 | Comments closed

Humanism through performative arts: A comparative study of My Papers Weren’t Done? and Zapi Rouge

 

In recent years, political migration has been one of the hottest topics in international politics. Its real moral complexity is often bypassed in the rush to make various nationalist assertions, while the pervasive media coverage spreads continuous quick images …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 11 | Comments closed

The Birth of Modern Iraqi Theatre: Church Drama in Mosul in the Late Nineteenth Century

The Birth of Modern Iraqi Theatre: 
Church Drama in Mosul in the Late Nineteenth Century
By Amir Al-Azraki and James Al-Shamma
Arab StagesVolume 2, Number 1 (Fall 2015)
©2015 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

Western-style theatre …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 3 | Comments closed

Yussef El Guindi’s Arab Spring: Revolutions, Upheavals, and Critical Critiques

Yussef El Guindi’s Arab Spring: Revolutions,
Upheavals, and Critical Critiques 
By Michael Malek Najjar 
Arab StagesVolume 2, Number 2 (Spring 2016) 
©2016 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

Egyptian-American playwright Yussef El Guindi is arguably the most …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 4 | Comments closed

Mohammad al-Attar’s While I was Waiting at Avignon

Mohammad al-Attar's While I was Waiting at Avignon
A Theatre Review by Philippa Wehle
Arab StagesVolume 5, Number 1 (Fall 2016) 
©2016 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

Mohammad al-Attar is among the best known young Syrian …

Also posted in Reviews, Volume 5 | Comments closed

Women Playwrights in Egypt (1993)

Women Playwrights in Egypt (1993)
By Nehad Selaiha
Arab Stages, Volume 6, Nehad Selaiha Memorial Issue (Spring, 2017)
©2017 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

The list of women playwrights in Egypt is depressingly short. When you have …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 6 | Comments closed

A Drama of Unlived Stories: Old Child by GalataPerform

A Drama of Unlived Stories: Old Child by GalataPerform
By Eylem Ejder
Arab Stages, Volume 7 (Fall, 2017) 
©2017 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

Founded in 2003 by Yeşim Özsoy, GalataPerform is one of the foremost theatre …

Also posted in Reviews, Volume 7 | Comments closed

Contemporary Arab Diasporic Plays and Productions in Europe and the United States

Contemporary Arab Diasporic Plays and Productions in Europe and the United States
By Marvin Carlson
Arab Stages, Volume 8 (Spring, 2018) 
©2018 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

During the twenty-first century, with an increasing interest in the Arab …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 8 | Comments closed

The Cairo International Festival of Experimental and Contemporary Theatre 2018

The Cairo International Festival of Experimental and Contemporary Theatre 2018
By Marvin Carlson
Arab Stages, Volume 9 (Fall, 2018) 
©2018 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

The Cairo Festival for Experimental Theatre (CIFET) is one of the most important …

Also posted in Volume 9 | Comments closed

We Live in Cairo

“Write what you know,” two generations of American writing students have been schooled. On some campuses the stakes have risen further: “How dare you write what you don’t know?” Regarding the Arab world, because its people have suffered such terrible …

Also posted in Reviews, Volume 11 | Comments closed

Parsing Disgraced : An Assault, A Critique, and A Truce

Parsing Disgraced: An Assault, A Critique, and A Truce 
By Jamil Khoury 
Arab Stages, Volume 2, Number 2 (Spring 2016) 
©2016 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

The staff at Silk Road Rising crafted a set of questions …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 4 | Comments closed

Theatre as an Optimistic Political Act: Lebanese Theatre Artist Sahar Assaf

Theatre as an Optimistic Political Act:
Lebanese Theatre Artist Sahar Assaf
By Michael Malek Najjar
Arab StagesVolume 2, Number 1 (Fall 2015)
©2015 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

Lebanese actress, director, and theatre professor Sahar Assaf …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 3 | Comments closed

On Ayad Akhtar’s Disgraced

On Ayad Akhtar’s Disgraced 
By Torange Yeghiazarian 
Arab Stages, Volume 2, Number 2 (Spring 2016)
©2016 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

“I can’t help but feel conflicted when I hear Muslim audience members outraged at the way they …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 4 | Comments closed

Development of Diegetic Practices in Iranian Indigenous Performances: A Historical View

Development of Diegetic Practices in Iranian Indigenous Performances: a Historical View
By Mohammad J. Yousefian Kenari and Parastoo Mohebbi
Arab Stages, Volume 5, Number 1 (Fall, 2016)
©2016 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

Performance Traditions and Narrative

Also posted in Essays, Volume 5 | Comments closed

Bubbles and Balloons: The Amman Theatre Festival (1995)

Bubbles and Balloons: The Amman Theatre Festival (1995) 
By Nehad Selaiha
Arab Stages, Volume 6, Nehad Selaiha Memorial Issue (Spring, 2017)
©2017 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

The real drama in this festival, which lasted from March …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 6 | Comments closed

From Street to Stage: Hip-hop, the History of an Artification through the Example of Farid Berki

From Street to Stage: Hip-hop, the History of an Artification 
through the Example of Farid Berki
By Omar Fertat
Arab Stages, Volume 7 (Fall, 2017) 
©2017 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

This essay follows my interests in …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 7 | Comments closed

The Wind in the Willows Makes It to KSA

The Wind in the Willows Makes It to KSA
By Areeg Ibrahim
Arab Stages, Volume 8 (Spring, 2018)
©2018 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

Watching theatre productions on stage was not a common occurrence in Saudi Arabia. Theatre …

Also posted in Reviews, Volume 8 | Comments closed

Gurshad Shaheman, a modern day Scheherazade, teller of fascinating tales that hold our attention and leave us wanting more

Gurshad Shaheman, a modern day Scheherazade
By Philippa Wehle 
Arab Stages, Volume 9 (Fall, 2018) 
©2018 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

Gurshad Shaheman, French-Iranian playwright, performer, and translator is one of the most fascinating voices on the French …

Also posted in Volume 9 | Comments closed

Laugh Till/When You Die: The Throes of Tahrir Square

On its opening day, 1s February, 2018, the Egyptian National Theatre in downtown Cairo showcased Laugh Till/When You Die (Idhak lama t’moot), Lenin el Ramly’s last play, directed by his longtime artistic partner Essam el Sayed. The play, …

Also posted in Reviews, Volume 11 | Comments closed

A Feminist Tuberculosis Melodrama: Melek By Theatre Painted Bird

A Feminist Tuberculosis Melodrama:
Melek By Theatre Painted Bird
By Emre Erdem
Arab Stages, Volume 2, Number 1 (Fall 2015)
©2015 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

Founded in 2000 by Jale Karabekir and Zeynep Kaçar, Tiyatro Boyalı

Also posted in Essays, Volume 3 | Comments closed

Abū-l-ʿIlā al-Salāmūnī: the Rewriting of History in Egyptian Theatre

Abū-l-ʿIlā al-Salāmūnī: the Rewriting of History in Egyptian Theatre
An Essay by Tiran Manucharyan
Arab Stages, Volume 5, Number 1 (Fall, 2016)
©2016 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication 

 

The plays Riwāyat al-Nadīm ʿan hoogit al-zaʿīm (1974), …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 5 | Comments closed

Great Art and Brave Hearts (1997)

Great Art and Brave Hearts
By Nehad Selaiha
Arab Stages, Volume 6, Nehad Selaiha Memorial Issue (Spring, 2017)
©2017 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

Out of Joint plays Caryl Churchill’s Heart’s Desire and Blue Kettle at the …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 6 | Comments closed

Shahid Nadeem’s Acquittal in New York

Shahid Nadeem’s Acquittal in New York
By Marvin Carlson
Arab Stages, Volume 7 (Fall, 2017)
©2017 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

Acquittal, a 1987 play by Shahid Nadeem, Pakistan’s leading playwright, was presented in New York …

Also posted in Reviews, Volume 7 | Comments closed

Documentary Theatre in Egypt: Devising a New Play in Cairo

Documentary Theatre in Egypt: Devising a New Play in Cairo
By Jillian Campana and Sara Seif
Arab Stages, Volume 8 (Spring, 2018) 
©2018 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

An original Documentary Theatre play created by American University in …

Also posted in Reviews, Volume 8 | Comments closed

Civilization Is but A Veneer: Locating Yemen for the Western Stage

Civilization Is but A Veneer: Locating Yemen for the Western Stage
By Hani Omar Khalil 
Arab Stages, Volume 9 (Fall, 2018) 
©2018 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

Even within the parade of horrible events that has troubled the …

Also posted in Volume 9 | Comments closed

Oslo vs. The Accords: Examining the Global Consequences of Fractional Truths on Stage

J.T. Rogers’ Tony Award winning play, Oslo, gives us a front row seat to the secret backchannel negotiations that made the Oslo Accords possible. The Oslo Accords, signed in 1993 by representatives from both Israel and Palestine, offered hope …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 11 | Comments closed

The Arab Theatre Festival (7th Session)

The Arab Theatre Festival (7th Session) by Jaouad Radouani
 Arab StagesVolume 1, Number 2 (Spring 2015)
 ©2015 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

The Arab Theatre Festival is an annual event organized in a different Arab country …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 2 | Comments closed

Much Ado About “Theatre and Censorship Conference”

Much Ado About “Theatre and Censorship Conference”
By Dalia Basiouny
Arab StagesVolume 2, Number 1 (Fall 2015)
©2015 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

The churnings of the second decade of the 21st century resulted in social …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 3 | Comments closed

Body Politics in Adham Hafez Company’s 2065 BC

Body Politics in Adham Hafez Company’s 2065 BC
By Chloë Edmonson
Arab Stages, Volume 2, Number 2 (Spring 2016) 
©2016 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

New York Live Arts hosts the Live Ideas Festival each Spring under a …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 4 | Comments closed

The Interwoven History of Moroccan Theatre

The Interwoven History of Moroccan Theatre
An Essay by Jaouad Radouani
Arab Stages, Volume 5, Number 1 (Fall 2016)
©2016 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

 

The interwoven history of Moroccan theatre is difficult to trace. Yet, thanks …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 5 | Comments closed

Home-Made Theatre (1998)

Home-Made Theatre (1998)
By Nehad Selaiha
Arab Stages, Volume 6, Nehad Selaiha Memorial Issue (Spring, 2017)
©2017 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

To get to the Women and Memory Research Center through the Muhandiseen maze of small …

Also posted in Reviews, Volume 6 | Comments closed

The 1919 Revolution in the Eyes of Modern and Contemporary Egyptian Theatre Directors: A Reflection of a Generation Gap

The 1919 Revolution in the Eyes of Modern and Contemporary 
Egyptian Theatre Directors: A Reflection of a Generation Gap
By Hadia abd el-fattah Ahmed
Arab Stages, Volume 7 (Fall, 2017) 
©2017 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

Historical

Also posted in Essays, Volume 7 | Comments closed

Boundaries of History, Memory and Invention: Laila Soliman’s ZigZig in Light of Absence of Egyptians’ Right to Freedom under Information Law

Boundaries of History, Memory and Invention:
Laila Soliman’s ZigZig in Light of
Absence of Egyptians’ Right to Freedom under Information Law
By Hadia abd el-fattah Ahmed
Arab Stages, Volume 8 (Spring, 2018)
©2018 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications
Also posted in Reviews, Volume 8 | Comments closed

Peer Gynt in Palestine

Peer Gynt in Palestine
By Ashley Marinaccio
Arab Stages, Volume 9 (Fall, 2018) 
©2018 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

Ibsen’s 19th century Norwegian play Peer Gynt has been reimagined in a new light thanks to the youth …

Also posted in Volume 9 | Comments closed

Yussef El Guindi’s Hostages: Thirty Years Later and Still Frighteningly Relevant

“You cheer your team when they score a goal, yes? You wave the flag, you cheer your troops … And after you cheer you switch off the TV and forget. You forget what has been done. For you. In your …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 11 | Comments closed

Mass Media Muslims: A Three Lens Theory of Representation

Mass Media Muslims: 
A Three Lens Theory of Representation
By Jamil Khoury
Arab StagesVolume 2, Number 1 (Fall 2015)
©2015 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

I think a lot about the representation of Muslims, particularly the …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 3 | Comments closed

A Counterpoint Reading of the Moussem Cities@Tunis Festival

A Counterpoint Reading of the
Moussem Cities@Tunis Festival
By Joachim Ben Yakoub & Fida Hammami 
Arab Stages, Volume 2, Number 2 (Spring 2016)
©2016 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

The censorship and strict regulation of the public sphere …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 4 | Comments closed

Tangier International Conference for 2016: The Narrative Turn in Contemporary Theatre

Tangier International Conference for 2016
“The Narrative Turn in Contemporary Theatre”
By Marvin Carlson
Arab Stages, Volume 5, Number 1 (Fall, 2016)
©2016 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

 

The 12th annual international conference organized in …

Also posted in Reviews, Volume 5 | Comments closed

Two Plays by Timberlake Wertenbaker: The Love of the Nightingale at the Women and Memory Forum and Our Country’s Good at the AUC (1998)

Two Plays by Timberlake Wertenbaker: The Love of the Nightingale at the Women and Memory Forum 
and Our Country's Good at the AUC *(1998)
By Nehad Selaiha
Arab Stages, Volume 6, Nehad Selaiha Memorial Issue (Spring, 2017)
©2017 by 
Also posted in Essays, Volume 6 | Comments closed

The Mysteries Behind a Silenced Voice: Review of Betty Shamieh’s The Strangest

The Mysteries Behind a Silenced Voice: 
Review of Betty Shamieh’s The Strangest
By Juan R. Recondo
Arab Stages, Volume 7 (Fall, 2017)
©2017 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

Semitic Root’s production of Betty Shamieh’s The Strangest, …

Also posted in Reviews, Volume 7 | Comments closed

The Yacoubian Building Onstage: An Interview with Kareem Fahmy

The Yacoubian Building Onstage: An Interview with Kareem Fahmy
By Catherine Coray
Arab Stages, Volume 8 (Spring, 2018) 
©2018 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

Dr. Alaa Al Aswany’s bestselling Egyptian novel The Yacoubian Building was published in Arabic …

Also posted in Reviews, Volume 8 | Comments closed

New and Joyful Encounters with Macbeth in the Turkish Theatre

New and Joyful Encounters with Macbeth in the Turkish Theatre
By Eylem Ejder
Arab Stages, Volume 9 (Fall, 2018) 
©2018 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

New texts, acting techniques, and production approaches are being revealed in the experimental …

Also posted in Volume 9 | Comments closed

From Dystopia to Utopia: Finding Hope in Now You Have A Trial by BGST

For a while, I have been interested in the ways how the contemporary theatre in Turkey deals with the current political situation, how theatre responds to and reflects the political turmoil which is being described with such language as “polarization,” …

Also posted in Essays, Reviews, Volume 11 | Comments closed

Issam Mahfouz’s The Dictator presented in New York

Issam Mahfouz’s The Dictator presented in New York
Marvin Carlson
Arab StagesVolume 2, Number 1 (Fall 2015)
©2015 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

The Dictator, written in 1969 by Lebanese playwright Issam Mahfouz, has been …

Also posted in Announcements, Volume 3 | Comments closed

The Last Supper by Ahmed El Attar

The Last Supper by Ahmed El Attar
By Marvin Carlson and Philippa Wehle
Arab Stages, Volume 2, Number 2 (Spring 2016)
©2016 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

Despite the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and the coming …

Also posted in Reviews, Volume 4 | Comments closed

Heather Raffo on Noura

Heather Raffo on Noura
A Theatre Review by Heather Denyer
Arab Stages, Volume 5, Number 1 (Fall, 2016)
©2016 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

In May of 2016, playwright Heather Raffo spoke with me about her collaboration …

Also posted in Reviews, Volume 5 | Comments closed

For Future Reference: Art and Politics (1999)

For Future Reference: Art and Politics (1999)
By Nehad Selaiha
Arab Stages, Volume 6, Nehad Selaiha Memorial Issue (Spring, 2017)
©2017 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

In the Arab world, where repressive authoritarianism, in varying degrees of …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 6 | Comments closed

Iranian Theatre as Means of Intervention: The Intercultural Discourse in Hey! Macbeth, only the first dog knows why it is barking!

Iranian Theatre as Means of Intervention: The Intercultural 
Discourse in Hey! Macbeth, only the first dog knows why it 
is barking!
By Sepideh Shokri Poori
Arab Stages, Volume 7 (Fall, 2017)
©2017 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications
Also posted in Reviews, Volume 7 | Comments closed

The Unfaithful Husband

The Unfaithful Husband
By James Sanua (Ya`qub Sanua)
Translation by Marvin Carlson and Stefano Boselli 
Arab Stages, Volume 8 (Spring, 2018) 
©2018 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

Translators’ Notes

Defined as “the father of the modern …

Also posted in Short Plays, Volume 8 | Comments closed

Sabour’s Night Traveler in Cairo

Sabour’s Night Traveler in Cairo
By Marvin Carlson 
Arab Stages, Volume 9 (Fall, 2018) 
©2018 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

I have often observed in attending even the most prestigious of the many international theatre festivals that one …

Also posted in Volume 9 | Comments closed

We are talking about Contemporary Theatre and Politics in Turkey

Upon looking at Turkey from afar one can see several negative processes.  The first thing that comes to our mind is imprisoned journalists, academics, politicians and artists. The Constitution which was passed after the 1980 coup still has the same …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 11 | Comments closed

An 1868 Egyptian Helen of Troy play published

An 1868 Egyptian Helen of Troy play published
Marvin Carlson
Arab StagesVolume 2, Number 1 (Fall 2015)
©2015 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

The current (October 10 issue of Al-Hayat announces that the first theatrical text …

Also posted in Announcements, Volume 3 | Comments closed

Arab Angst on Swedish Stages

Arab Angst on Swedish Stages
I Came to See You by Karim Rashed,
Directed by Robert Jelinek and Petra Brylander 
A Theatre Review by Margaret Litvin
Arab Stages, Volume 2, Number 2 (Spring 2016)
©2016 by Martin E. Segal Theatre 
Also posted in Reviews, Volume 4 | Comments closed

A Woman’s Rule: Review of The Harlem Classical Theatre’s production of Fit for a Queen

A Woman’s Rule: Review of The Harlem Classical Theatre’s production of Fit for a Queen
A Theatre Review by Juan R. Recondo
Arab Stages, Volume 5, Number 1 (Fall, 2016)
©2016 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

The …

Also posted in Reviews | Comments closed

A Hair-‘razing’ Adventure: The Head of Mameluke Jaber (2000)

A Hair-'razing' Adventure: The Head of Mameluke Jaber (2000)
By Nehad Selaiha
Arab Stages, Volume 6, Nehad Selaiha Memorial Issue (Spring, 2017)
©2017 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

Whoever said that we generally think in metaphors, which …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 6 | Comments closed

Why are we here now? Mohammed al Attar’s work Aleppo. A Portrait of Absence

Why are we here now? Mohammed al Attar's work 
Aleppo. A Portrait of Absence
By Christel Weiler
Arab Stages, Volume 7 (Fall, 2017)
©2017 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

For a period of three weekends in the fall …

Also posted in Reviews, Volume 7 | Comments closed

Secrets of a Suicide

Secrets of a Suicide
By Tawfiq al-Hakim
Translated by Maha Swelem
Arab Stages, Volume 8 (Spring, 2018) 
©2018 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

Translator’s Notes: 

One could not state that choosing an Egyptian play to translate was …

Also posted in Short Plays, Volume 8 | Comments closed

Wajdi Mouawad’s Seuls: When the body performs memory.

Wajdi Mouawad’s Seuls: When the body performs memory.
By Rachel M. Watson   
Arab Stages, Volume 9 (Fall, 2018) 
©2018 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

“We are buildings inhabited by a renter about whom we know nothing. Our …

Also posted in Volume 9 | Comments closed

Arab World Contributions to the Avignon Festival, 2019

The 2019 edition of the leading international theatre festival at Avignon offered two contributions from the Arab World among its featured presentations. These were Mahmoud & Nini , written and directed by Henri Jules Julien, from the Tarmac Theatre in …

Also posted in Essays, Reviews | Comments closed

Young and Critical Voices of Turkey II: “We are here as we are and even if we are somehow failing, we keep working” Conversation with Onur Karaoğlu

By Eylem Ejder

This is the second part of a conversation series I initiated in June 2019 in order to make the young, creative and critical voices of theatre and performing arts in Turkey more visible and audible. I hope

Also posted in Essays, Interview, Uncategorized, Volume 12 | Comments closed

Review of The Selected Works of Yussef El Guindi edited by Michael Malek Najjar

By Areeg Ibrahim

There is a saying in many cultures that when it rains it pours, but we also cannot get enough of a good thing. I am referring here to a new book of Arab American plays. The publication …

Also posted in Reviews, Volume 12 | Comments closed

Review of Le théâtre marocain a l’épreuve du texte étranger (Moroccan Theatre: Experimenting with the Foreign Text) by Omar Fertat

By Khalid Amine

In the weighty book under the title Le théâtre marocain a l’épreuve du texte étranger, Omar Fertat, writer and lecturer at the University of Bordeaux presents a palimpsestuous reading revising other texts and narratives on the …

Also posted in Reviews, Volume 12 | Comments closed

Review of Palestinian Theatre in the West Bank: Our Human Faces by Gabriel Varghese

By Ashley Marinaccio

Despite a robust array of scholarship on Palestine, very little published material exists on Palestinian theatre. Gabriel Varghese addresses this matter in his first book Palestinian Theatre in the West Bank: Our Human Faces, based on his …

Also posted in Reviews, Volume 12 | Comments closed

In Memorium: Fatima Gallaire (1944-2020)

By Laura Chakravarty Box

Fatima Gallaire (née Bourega) was a remarkable woman of letters who has left a prolific body of work: short stories, screenplays, documentaries, novels for adults and children, poems, and over thirty plays for adults and young …

Also posted in Announcements, Volume 12 | Comments closed

In Memoriam: Lenin El Ramly (1945-2020)

By Girgis Shoukry

Translated by Dalia Basiouny

Lenin El Ramly did not engage with the theatre community’s debates about forms of stage writing, origins of Egyptian theatre, theories, festivals, or even awards. Instead he focused his writing on the Egyptian …

Also posted in Announcements, Uncategorized, Volume 12 | Comments closed

Nehad Selaiha (1945-2017): On Egyptian and International Theatre Free PDF’s of Five Volumes of Theatre Criticism + Sample Essays

The Egyptian scholar Nehad Selaiha, who died in 2017, has long been recognized as the leading theatre critic of the Arab World.  In 2003 and 2004 she selected around 300 out of the several thousand essays on Arab and international

Also posted in Essays, Short Plays, Uncategorized, Volume 12 | Comments closed

Refraction, against distortion. Recent tendencies on the Arab stage

By Daniela Potenza

While Egypt was still in revolt, especially in 2011, some plays emerged as a continuation of the revolution.[1] Acclaimed performances, such as Dalia Basiouny’s Solitaire, and Laila Soliman’s No Time for Art were sincere expressions …

Also posted in Essays, Uncategorized, Volume 12 | Comments closed

“Theatre—It’s Our Only Sanctuary” An Interview with Professor Sahar Assaf

By Michael Malek Najjar

Lebanon has been struggling with difficulties since the Taif Agreement (also known as the National Reconciliation Accord) was reached, effectively ending the decades-long Lebanese Civil War in 1989. Since that time, there have been several calamitous …

Also posted in Essays, Interview, Volume 12 | Comments closed

In Memoriam: Riad Ismat (1947-2020)

By Robert Myers

On May 13 of this year, the theatre, the Arab world and those who care about literature and culture lost a great friend, scholar and brilliant director and playwright, Mohammad Riad Hussein Ismat to the Covid 19 …

Also posted in Announcements, Interview, Volume 12 | Comments closed

Nahda: Five Visions of an Arab Awakening

Nahda: Five Visions of an Arab Awakening
Arab StagesVolume 2, Number 1 (Fall 2015)
©2015 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

On the evening of October 12, 2015, the Noor Highlight Reading Series presented a public reading …

Also posted in Announcements, Volume 3 | Comments closed

Two Egyptian Playwrights in Boston: Hany Abdel Naser’s They Say Dancing is a Sin and Yasmeen Emam’s The Mirror

Two Egyptian Playwrights in Boston:
Hany Abdel Naser’s They Say Dancing is a Sin 
and Yasmeen Emam’s The Mirror
A Theatre Review by Sarah Moawad
Arab Stages, Volume 2, Number 2 (Spring 2016)
©2016 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center 
Also posted in Reviews, Volume 4 | Comments closed

The Third Identity: An Interview with Tareq Abu Kwaik

The Third Identity: An Interview with Tareq Abu Kwaik
An Interview by George Potter
Arab Stages, Volume 5, Number 1 (Fall, 2016)
©2016 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

 

Before touring internationally with the band 47 Soul

Also posted in Essays, Volume 5 | Comments closed

Manifold Oedipus: Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex at the National (2001)

Manifold Oedipus: Sophocles' Oedipus Rex at the National (2001)
By Nehad Selaiha
Arab Stages, Volume 6, Nehad Selaiha Memorial Issue (Spring, 2017)
©2017 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

The earliest record of a production of Sophocles’s Oedipus

Also posted in Essays, Volume 6 | Comments closed

The Theatrical Work Mchouga-Maboul: A Plunge into Moroccan Memory

The Theatrical Work Mchouga-Maboul: A Plunge into Moroccan Memory
By Lalla Nouzha Tahiri
Arab Stages, Volume 7 (Fall, 2017) 
©2017 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

The author of this work is playwright Simon Elbaz, who is a native …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 7 | Comments closed

A Knock from the Stork

A Knock from the Stork
By Mostafa Shoul
Arab Stages, Volume 8 (Spring, 2018) 
©2018 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

Prefatory Note

The present one-act play does not include the conventional dramatis personae. This is a deliberate choice …

Also posted in Short Plays, Volume 8 | Comments closed

Middle Eastern Representation at the Brussel’s Kunstenfestivaldesarts, 2019

The Kusntenfestivaldesarts 2019 (Brussels) hosted several shows from Middle Eastern artists this year.  Reflecting and sensitivity to presenting a diversity of shows from different cultures, shows from the Middle East are presented in each edition of this festival. They are …

Also posted in Essays, Reviews, Volume 11 | Comments closed

Muslim Rap, Halal Soaps, and Revolutionary Theatre

Muslim Rap, Halal Soaps, and Revolutionary Theatre
Ed. by Karin van Nieuwkerk
A Book Review By Marvin Carlson
Austin: University of Texas Press, 2012. 
Pp. vi + 291, ISBN 978-0-292-74768-5. (Pbk $16.75).
Arab StagesVolume 2, Number 1 (Fall 
Also posted in Reviews, Volume 3 | Comments closed

Chasing the Gaze of the Killer: Rabih Mroué’s The Pixelated Revolution

Chasing the Gaze of the Killer: Rabih Mroué’s The Pixelated Revolution
An Essay by Mara Valderrama
Arab Stages, Volume 5, Number 1 (Fall 2016)
©2016 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

 

When a wave of popular uprisings known …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 5 | Comments closed

Royal Buffoonery: King Lear at the National (2002)

Royal Buffoonery: King Lear at the National (2002)
By Nehad Selaiha
Arab Stages, Volume 6, Nehad Selaiha Memorial Issue (Spring, 2017)
©2017 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

Any production of a revered classic, particularly in a cultural …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 6 | Comments closed

The 24th Cairo International Festival for Contemporary and Experimental Theatre

The 24th Cairo International Festival for Contemporary 
and Experimental Theatre
By Marvin Carlson
Arab Stages, Volume 7 (Fall, 2017) 
©2017 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

Long-time observers of the Cairo Theatre scene will remember that in 2011, after …

Also posted in Reviews, Volume 7 | Comments closed

On Ajoka: An Interview and In Memoriam

An Interview conducted by Fawzia Afzal-Khan, 
with Shahid Mahmood Nadeem and Sohail Warraich of Ajoka Theatre, 
March 28th 2018.
By Fawzia Afzal Khan
Arab Stages, Volume 8 (Spring, 2018) 
©2018 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publications

The interview

Also posted in Essays, Volume 8 | Comments closed

Events from the Arab/Islamic World at the 2019 PRELUDE Festival, New York

Sanaz Ghajar, Iranian Girlfriend (October 3)

PRELUDE 2019, the sixteenth annual Prelude Festival presented by the Martin E. Segal Center at The Graduate Center, CUNY, and co-curated by Sanaz Ghajar and David Bruin with the theme Riotous Excursions, enjoyed …

Also posted in Uncategorized, Volume 11 | Comments closed

Arab American Drama, Film and Performance: A Critical Study, 1908 to the Present

Arab American Drama,Film and Performance:
A Critical Study, 1908 to the Present
By Michael Malek Najjar 
A Book Review By George Potter
Jefferson: McFarland, 2015
Arab StagesVolume 2, Number 1 (Fall 2015) 
©2015 by Martin E. Segal Theatre 
Also posted in Reviews, Volume 3 | Comments closed

On Michael Najjar’s Direction of Scorched by Wajdi Mouawad

On Michael Najjar’s Direction of 
Scorched by Wajdi Mouawad
A Theatre Review by Torange Yeghiazarian
Arab Stages, Volume 2, Number 2 (Spring 2016)
©2016 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

 Civil war is complicated. It is by definition the …

Also posted in Reviews, Volume 4 | Comments closed

World Premiere of Arabic Drama at Cornell

World Premiere of Arabic Drama at Cornell
A Theatre Review by Marvin Carlson
Arab Stages, Volume 5, Number 1 (Fall, 2016)
©2016 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

The Cornell University Department of Performing and Media Arts presented …

Also posted in Reviews, Volume 5 | Comments closed

قطوف من حدائقها

قطوف من حدائقها
By Sana' Selaiha
Arab Stages, Volume 6, Nehad Selaiha Memorial Issue (Spring, 2017) 
©2017 by Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Publication

قطوف من حدائقها
كتب: سناء صليحة

عقب انتهاء أول ندوة جلست فيها على المنصة لمناقشة …

Also posted in Essays, Volume 6 | Comments closed
Skip to toolbar