Sharjah 24: The Arab Theatre Institute has provided the Arab Theatre Library with three publications within the series of studies, tackling the Lebanese theatre, the theatre in the UAE, and the presence of One Thousand and One Nights in the Arab theatre.
The first publication relates to the Lebanese Theatre - The Crisis of the Critical Reference from Text to Performance, written by the Lebanese critic and researcher Al Hussam Muhyi Al Din, based on a burning question that he summarised in his introduction: Has criticism succeeded in establishing a reference or a basic nucleus for a critical concept about Lebanese theatre that fulfills its right to study and evaluation as a literary theatrical text? This is a problem from which other questions necessarily branch out:
To what extent is the literary theatrical text related to the elements of the theatrical performance in directing and acting from the critic's perspective?
Did theatrical criticism arise from certain theories in keeping pace with theatrical writing, or was it based on specific local technical writing foundations?
How did criticism deal with the idea of the text’s reference, i.e. the existence of traditions for theatrical writing or not?
Therefore, the author divided his book into two chapters, each consisting of three topics, tackling the text and the components of the theatrical performance in the balance of criticism, the text and the directing movement from the critic’s perspective, the text and the acting movement from the critic’s perspective, the play “The Miser” from Essam Mahfouz’s critical perspective, the text’s reference and its relationship to acting and directing from Essam Mahfouz’s perspective, and Essam Mahfouz’s critical project from the text to the performance.
The second publication relates to the Theatre in the UAE between Heritage and Modernity, written by the Syrian writer and researcher Dr. Haitham Al Khawaja. The author wrote this book to ask, "To what extent have Emirati playwrights succeeded in employing heritage? What is the critics' point of view on the practical applications of employing this heritage in theatre?" Dr. Al Khawaja notes that Emirati playwrights have stopped at heritage through three directions: the first is adopting heritage literally, the second is combining the literalness of heritage and adapting it to the present with a future vision, and the third is benefiting from heritage through semantic projections so that heritage is not a main focus in the idea of the play and its events.
The text of the book came in three sections, studying experimentation, questions of modernity, and objective trends in theatrical writing. It also addressed the authenticity of theatre and the human civilizational dimension, and focused specifically on Al Qasimi Theatre, Desert Theatre, and Comedy Theatre.
The third publication relates to The Presence of One Thousand and One Nights in Arab Theatre, written by the Saudi artist and researcher Dr. Sami Al Jumaan. The book came in two hundred and seventy-eight pages, in three chapters, Each chapter contained research and multiple sections that tackled the elements of the reproduction of stories, and revealed the dramatic characteristics contained in the Arabian Nights that are suitable to be a basis, from which the playwright can start.
Dr. Al Jumaan defined the forms of the presence of One Thousand and One Nights in Arab theatre, basing this on models of texts such as Abu Al Hasan Al Mughaffal by Maroun Al Naqqash, Ali Janah Al Tabrizi by Alfred Faraj, and The King is the King by Saadallah Wannous.
The author, Dr. Al Jumaan, mentioned in his conclusion a number of recommendations, indicating to the Arab playwright not to deal with One Thousand and One Nights in the concept based on venerating heritage and surrendering to its dominance, but rather to subject it to his visions and invest it in serving the issues of his time.
Secretary-General Ismail Abdullah stated on the occasion of these publications that during October 2024, the Arab Theatre Institute will publish sixteen new publications, ranging between study, documentation, research and text, and criticism occupies a good space in these publications. He added that he is proud that the Institute's publications occupy an advanced position in Arab theatrical publishing through research.
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