Contemporary Plays from Iraq - A Cradle; A Strange Bird on Our Roof; Cartoon Dreams; Ishtar in

Contemporary Plays from Iraq is a ground-breaking collection of Middle Eastern drama translated into English for the very first time. With works from both established and emerging male and female playwrights, written in country and in exile, this volume offers current Iraqi perspectives on a war and occupation that have significantly impacted the Middle East and the rest of the world. Dealing exclusively with contemporary plays originating from Iraq, this anthology gives under-studied Arabic political theatre the attention it deserves and provides a general introduction that sets the plays within their cultural and historical contexts. The plays are preceded by introductions from the playwrights themselves, further enriching each piece for the enjoyment and understanding of the reader.The volume is introduced and translated by James Al-Shamma , Assistant Professor at Belmont University, US, and A. Al-Azraki , an Iraqi playwright.>

List of contents

Foreword

General introduction

Biographies

The Takeover by Hoshang Waziri
Introduction
Text

A Cradle by Abdul-Kareem Al-Ameri
Introduction
Text

Ishtar in Baghdad by Rasha Fadhil
Introduction
Text

Summer Rain by Abdel-Nabi Al-Zaidi
Introduction
Text

Romeo and Juliet in Baghdad by Monadhil Daoud Albayati
Introduction
Text

Me, Torture, and Your Love by Awatif Naeem
Introduction
Text

A Strange Bird on Our Roof by Abdul Razaq Al-Rubai
Introduction
Text

Cartoon Dreams by Kareem Sheghaidil
Introduction
Text

The Widow by A. Al-Azraki
Introduction
Text

About the author

A. Al-Azraki is an Iraqi playwright.James Al-Shamma is Assistant Professor of Theatre at Belmont University, where he started teaching in 2007. He teaches theatre history and literature, scriptwriting, film, improvisation and other courses. He directs at the university and is an artistic and producing partner for the Five Dollar Recession (FDR) Theatre Company. Dr. Al-Shamma’s principal areas of research are contemporary women playwrights and Arabic, and specifically Iraqi, theatre. He has published two books on American playwright Sarah Ruhl and has published articles in the Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism and The Eugene O’Neill Review.A. Al-Azraki is an Iraqi playwright.Monadhil Daoud Albayati is a theatre director, playwright, and actor. He was born in 1960 in Basra. He has a PhD in Performing Arts and a High Diploma in Theatre Directing from the Theatre Academy in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and a Diploma in Directing from the Fine Arts Institute, Baghdad. He was a program supervisor at Spectrum London from 1995 through 1997. He is currently a director in the Department of Cinema and Theatre in the Iraqi Ministry of Culture. As an actor, he has appeared in the plays The Great Wall of China (Soor al-seen), The Court (Al-mahkama), The Dramatic Wedding (Al-zafaaf al-dirami), Joan of Arc (Jan Dark), Hamlet’s Conference (Mu’tamar Hamlet), Richard III, and Tartuffe (Tartuf). He has written the plays Here is Baghdad (Huna Baghdad) and Time of the Mill (Zamen al-Mat’hana), and the play adaptations Romeo and Juliet in Baghdad (Roemo wa Juliet fi Baghdad) and Forget Herostratus! (Insu Herostrat). His directorial credits include The Boy Mahran (Al-fata Mahran) and Cannibals (Akilat Luhoom al-Basher). All of the above have been staged in Baghdad, and Romeo and Juliet in Baghdad received a production in Stratford, England, as well, at the World Shakespeare Festival in 2012.Abdul Razaq al Rubai was born in Baghdad in 1961 and received his B.A. in Arabic Language from Baghdad University. He has served as an editor for many cultural and literary magazines, and he is a well-known poet whose verse has been anthologized in numerous volumes, including A Tribute to Her Laughter (Fi al-Thanaa ala Dhihkataha; Muscat, 2015), Speicher’s Birds (Tiyour Speicher; Baghdad, 2014), and Nostalgia Diary (Yaoumiyat al-Hanin; Muscat, 2012). His plays include: A Strange Bird on Our Roof (Alla Sathuna Tair Ghraib), published in Muscat in 2013; Hell’s Evangelists (Umraa al-Jahim), produced in Auckland in 2007; and Tramps Catching Stars (al-Sa’alik Yastadhoon al-Nijoom) and Planets of the Personal System (Kawakib al-Majmua al-Shakhsiya), both produced in Cairo in 2004. He currently resides in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, and works at the Studies and Research Centre, Oman Establishment for Press Publication and Advertising.Ali Abdel-Nabi Al-Zaidi was born in Nasiriya in 1965, and graduated from the Teacher’s Institute of that city in 1987. His play collections include The Eighth Day of the Week (Thamin Ayam al-Usbu’; 2000), The Return of the Man Who Has Not been Absent (Awda al-Rajul allthi lam Yaghib; 2005), A Show in Arabic (Ardh bil Arabi; 2011), and The Divine Plays (Al-ilahiyat; 2014).Rasha Fadhil is an award-winning short-story writer, novelist, playwright, and journalist. She was born in Basra in 1975 and spent her childhood there, attended college and lived for a time in Tikrit, and currently resides in Lebanon. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Tikrit and was awarded a certificate in International Journalism and Media Studies from the Institute of Arab Strategy in Beirut in 2008. She has participated in numerous conferences, conventions, and literary and cultural events inside and outside of Iraq. Five of her books, consisting of collections of short stories, poetry, and criticism, have been published in Cairo and Syria. She is a member of the Federation of Writers in Iraq, the Advisory Board of the Palace of Culture and Arts in Salah al-Din, and the International PEN Club in Berlin. She has worked for the Red Crescent and the Red Cross in Iraq at the Department of Prisoners and Detainees as well as in health education addressing AIDS prevention. She was among the creative writers honored by the Iraqi Ministry of Culture in 2010 and has received several international awards in playwriting and short fiction. Her plays have been staged in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Iraq.Awatif Naeem is an award-winning TV and theatre actress, director, playwright, and critic, whose work has been presented locally and internationally. She was born in Baghdad in 1950 and has a PhD in Directing from the College of Fine Arts in Baghdad. She is the Director and Founder of the Children’s Theatre of Baghdad, a cofounder in 1994 of the Theatre Critics’ Association (which represents all theatre critics in Iraq), and the Vice-President of the Iraqi Union of Artists. She has written and directed more than 30 plays for the National Theatre Troupe and has represented Iraqi theatre at many international festivals. Her work as a playwright includes Sorry Sir, I Didn’t Mean That (A’tathir Ustadi, lam Aqsud thalik; Tunisia, 2003) and Oh My Son, Mutar! (Mutar Yuma; Iraq, 1989), and she directed the play Lorca’s Women (Nisaa Lorca) in Iraq in 2006. She wrote and directed House of Sorrows (Bait al-Ahzan; Jordan, 1997) and Hardy Clay Stones (Hajar al-Sijeel; Iraq, 2000). She has written the following TV dramas: Me, Her, and Him (Ana wa hiya wa hua), Above the Clouds (Fawq al-Sahab), Eyes of Fear (Oyoon al-Khawf), and Hearts Inhabited by Love (Qiloob Taskunuha al-Mahaba). She appeared as an actress in the films Borders in Flames (Al-hudood al-Multahiba; 1984) and Another Day (Yawm Akhir; 1977).Abdul-Kareem Mahdi Saleh is a poet, playwright, and journalist. He was born in 1958 in Basra. He is editor-in-chief of the cultural and literary magazine Basrayatha. His plays include A House Registry (Qaid Dar; 1998), Jaaban (Ja’aban; 2015), and A Cradle (Karouk; 2001). He has published the novel Anbar Saeed (A’nbar Sa’eed; 2010) and two anthologies of poetry: No One before Time (La Ahad Qabla al-Awan; 1998) and Hideouts (Makhab’; 2000).Kareem Shghidel is a playwright, poet, and journalist. He has a PhD in Arabic from Al-Mustansiriyah University and is currently a researcher in the Department of Civil Society and Human Rights Studies, Mustansiriyah Centre for Arabic and International Studies in Baghdad. His poetry collections include Manuscript of Pain (Makhtootat al-Alem), published by Dar al-Shi’oon al-Thaqafiyah al-A’ama (The General House of Cultural Affairs), Baghdad, 2005; Sins Are Its Fruits (Thimaraha al-Ma’asi), published by al-Marqaz al-Arabi al-Thaqafi al-Suweesri (The Swiss-Arab Cultural Center), Zürich, 2006; and Care about Ash (Al-A’naya bil Ramad) published by al-Suwaida, Syria, 2015. Productions of his plays include The Ringing (Al-Raneen), at Muntada al-Masrah (Theatre Forum) in Baghdad in 1995; Air-to-Ground (Ardh Jaw), at the Department of Cinema and Theatre, Baghdad, in 2009; Out of Coverage Area (Kharij al-Taghtiyah) at the Department of Cinema and Theatre, Baghdad, 2009; and Cartoon Dreams (Ahlam Cartoon), at the Jordan Theatre Festival, Amman, 2014.Hoshang Waziri was born in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan. He studied Fine Arts and graduated with a Bachelor’s in Theater Directing from the College of Fine Arts, Baghdad University, in 1990. His collection of political essays, Between Two Iraqs (Bilad Mabayeen Iraqain), was published by Noon Publishing House, United Arab Emirates, in 2014. His political, theatrical, and literary articles and essays have appeared in many Arabic-language newspapers, including Alhayat and Assafir, and in English-language publications such as openDemocracy and ex Ponto Magazine. He has written several plays and many essays about theatre. Mr. Waziri has conducted research for Oxford University and Artis International, and was the executive producer of the documentary A Syrian Love Story, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sheffield Documentary Festival, UK, in 2015. His play Ismail's Places won first place in the 2015 Arab Theatre Institute Contest held in the United Arab Emirates.James Al-Shamma is Assistant Professor of Theatre at Belmont University, where he started teaching in 2007. He teaches theatre history and literature, scriptwriting, film, improvisation and other courses. He directs at the university and is an artistic and producing partner for the Five Dollar Recession (FDR) Theatre Company. Dr. Al-Shamma’s principal areas of research are contemporary women playwrights and Arabic, and specifically Iraqi, theatre. He has published two books on American playwright Sarah Ruhl and has published articles in the Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism and The Eugene O’Neill Review.A. Al-Azraki is an Iraqi playwright.

Product details

• Authors: Al, Abdul Razaq al Rubai, A Al-Azraki, A. Al-Azraki, Amir Al-Azraki, Monadhil Daoud Albayati, Albayati Monadhil Daoud, James Al-Shamma, Ali Abdel-Nabi Al-Zaidi, Al-Zaidi Ali Abdel-Nabi, Rasha Fadhil, Fadhil Rasha, Awatif Naeem, Abdul Razaq Al Rubai, Abdul-Kareem Mahdi Saleh, Saleh Abdul-Kareem Mahdi, Kareem Shghidel, Hoshang Waziri, Waziri Hoshang
• Assisted by: A. Al-Azraki (Editor), Amir Al-Azraki (Editor), James Al-Shamma (Editor), A. Al-Azraki (Translation), Amir Al-Azraki (Translation), James Al-Shamma (Translation)
• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.01.2017
• EAN: 9781474253307
• ISBN: 978-1-4742-5330-7
• No. of pages: 224
• Series: Methuen Drama Play Collections
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature; DRAMA / General, LITERARY COLLECTIONS / General, Iraq, Anthologies: general, Anthologies (non-poetry), Plays, Playscripts, Anthologies