Entertainment

“To be or not to be”: soldiers in arms and period costumes on the stage of a building dating from the British colonial era, the famous monologue of Hamlet resounds in Arabic in an unprecedented adaptation in Yemen, an extremely rare event in this war-torn country.

Between moral dilemmas and a tragic power struggle, William Shakespeare’s emblematic play has a powerful echo at the gates of the Red Sea, in the poorest country of the Arabian Peninsula, devastated for more than eight years by a bloody conflict between the pro-government fighters to Houthi rebels.

The former are supported by neighboring Saudi Arabia, the latter by Iran, the two great rivals of the Arabo-Persian Gulf.

Organized in partnership with the British Council, the ten performances of Hamlet sold out at the beginning of January in Aden, a southern city controlled by the government and which became its temporary capital following the capture of Sanaa by the Houthis in 2014.

“The play was adapted from Shakespeare’s English into classical Arabic and then into the specific dialect of Aden. » Photo AFP

“Old Dream”

“Most of the reactions are good and promising,” rejoices the director of the play Amr Gamal, also director of Ten Days Before the Wedding, one of the few Yemeni feature films made in recent years.

“People don’t leave the room before the end of the play even though it’s long,” he says.

However, the director expected a “limited” audience, the general public being rarely fond of foreign works. But the success of the play will allow other performances this year, he assures.

The troupe performs in the precincts of Parliament, a historic building that dates from the strong British colonial presence in a strategic city located on the Gulf of Aden, near the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Marwan Mafraq, assistant to the director, evokes “an old dream” finally realized. “It’s not just a Shakespearean play, it’s also the restoration of a historical monument,” he says.

But, beyond this piece, the artistic environment has become very restricted in Yemen because of the conflict, regrets Marwan Mafraq, when the country was known for its very rich history and culture.

The war has devastated this country of 30 million people, facing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with a permanent threat of large-scale famine. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and millions more displaced, according to the UN.

” Love and peace ”

The troupe was trained remotely via the Zoom app for two years by the Globe Theater in London and the Volcano Theater in Wales. The British Council, which has overseen this cooperation, affirms its “commitment” to allow “young Yemenis to express themselves creatively”.

“The play was adapted from Shakespeare’s English to classical Arabic and then to the specific dialect of Aden”, explains Omar Majalad, who plays several roles including that of Guildenstern, friend of Hamlet.

“As artists, we always have the hope that there will be great cultural, theatrical or cinematographic productions that highlight Yemeni culture,” says the actor.

If, like many artists around the world, the actress Nour Zaker qualifies Hamlet as a play “not easy that cannot be taken lightly”, she particularly had to face, as a woman, many “very great difficulties”, in a very conservative country.

“My family didn’t object to it, but it’s difficult because society doesn’t accept it,” she says.

But the spectators say they are “greedy” for these cultural events, like Heba el-Bakri, who came to one of the performances of Hamlet. “Our people are exhausted and need entertainment,” she said following one of the performances.

Fadi Abdelmalik also “hopes” to see many other artistic works in the future. Yemen should, he said, “give more importance to art and music to cultivate love and peace”.

By AFP correspondents in Aden, with Shatha YAISH in Dubai

On the program of the show of January 27, 2023 ⬇

This Friday, the writer Abnousse Shalmani, the editor-in-chief of the weekly “Politis” Pierre Jacquemain, the essayist and economist Nicolas Bouzou, and the cartoonist Erwann Terrier return to the news of the week.

The sculptor specializing in monumental works Anilore Banon will join them during the show. His project – started 8 years ago – to send his work “Vitae Project” to the Moon might soon materialize. This self-deploying flower-shaped sculpture will be engraved by a million footprints of women and men of all ages. Designed to naturally close in the heat during the day and open at night, it would be visible from Earth with telescopes. The astronaut Thomas Pesquet had already embarked a miniature copy aboard the Soyuz capsule in 2017.

Back to two news of the week:

Ukraine. The decision was taken yesterday: Germany will deliver 14 Leopard tanks to Ukraine. On the United States side, Joe Biden also announced that 31 Abrams tanks will be sent in the coming months. The English had started this movement by announcing a few days ago the delivery of Challenger tanks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky already claims “12 countries in the tank coalition”. While he is now calling for long-range missiles and planes, where is the French action? France is currently reluctant to deprive itself of some of its 226 Leclerc tanks. Is this hesitation culpable? Are we missing “the train of history”?

Retreats. New controversy around the pension reform: she would be accused of being “anti-woman”. In fact, the government’s impact study shows with figures that raising the legal age to 64 penalizes women more. In response, the government explains that conversely, women will benefit more from the minimum pension reassessed to 1200 euros. Is this criticism of an “anti-woman” reform justified? Has the government underestimated this aspect? Is he losing the battle of opinion?

The verification demanded by Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol will not have been enough, he is still contesting the results and the proclaimed victory of Olivier Faure as First Secretary of the Socialist Party. This is the duel of the week, proposed by Frédéric Says.

This week, the world of cinema has unleashed internet users. Oscars, Césars, the Puy du Fou film, Zlatan in “Asterix and Obelix: the Middle Empire”… Sonia Chironi takes stock.

The Angoulême festival is divided by the controversy surrounding Bastien Vivès, whose exhibition was canceled following accusations of advocating child pornography. Claude Askolovitch returns to this affair which shook the world of comics.

Our international front page is that of the Swedish daily “Dagens Nyheter” of January 25, titled: “Russia wins over Turkey’s no to Sweden”. Is this a definitive veto on Sweden’s entry into NATO?

Finally, find the photos of the week carefully selected by our clubbists and the Drift of the Continents by Benoît Forgeard.

28 Minutes is ARTE’s current affairs magazine, presented by Elisabeth Quin from Monday to Friday at 8:05 p.m. Renaud Dély is at the helm of the show on Saturdays. This podcast is co-produced by KM and ARTE Radio.

A group of Arab stars commemorates the death of the “Arab Guitar” Saudi artist Talal Maddah on February 1, and the Arab stars gather at the Mohammed Abdo Theater

Arena in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, they gather to sing, and the late artist will attend via hologram technology:

In a report from the Saudi Entertainment Authority, it was stated that Arab artists are singing to commemorate “The Voice of the Earth”, which is the nickname of the artist Talal Maddah. A group of artists who have previously sung praises or replayed his songs will gather on the stage. Arabic.

Turki Al Sheikh invited all artists inside Saudi Arabia and the entire Arab world to participate in a night honoring one of the most important pioneers of the Saudi song, more than twenty years following his departure, highlighting that everyone who accepts the invitation will have a special appreciation on his part, which sparked an interaction And the enthusiasm of the stars of the Arab world to participate in this event.