The French "La Colline" Theater on the "Mono" stage in the capital, Beirut

2024-03-27 16:06:50

At the end of next April, for a period of three weeks, the Monot Theater in Beirut will host a theatrical work, which it will co-produce with the prominent French “La Colline” theater, directed by the Lebanese-Canadian Wajdi Moawad, and whose events take place against the backdrop of the Lebanon War between the 1970s and the 1990s. Moreover, “nostalgia for a lost past, the pain of estrangement, and the specter of war” are present in this work, according to Mono’s statement about the play, which was one of Moawad’s first works.

Published on: 03/27/2024 – 17:06

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It will start next April 30th The Lebanese capital, Beirut Performances of the play “A Wedding Feast for the Cavemen” by writer and director Wajdi Moawad (55 years old) at the “Monot” Theater in Beirut, which has become a main focus of the theatrical movement in Lebanon in recent years.

Theater director Josiane Boulos told Agence France-Presse that the play, which Moawad wrote in French when he was twenty-three, will be presented on the Beirut stage in the Lebanese dialect, and most of its roles will be played by Lebanese actors, and “Monot” will cooperate with “La Coline” in its production.

She pointed out that Moawad came to Lebanon last October and conducted auditions to select the actors “who are currently in Paris, where they are training at the ‘La Colline’ theatre.”

She also explained that a team from “La Coline” will prepare the theater with equipment brought from France, while the decoration, which she described as “huge,” will be made in Lebanon.

The play, which will continue until May 19, deals with the story of a Lebanese family living amidst daily bombings and power outages during the war that Lebanon witnessed between 1975 and 1990, and preparing for their daughter’s supposed wedding.

The work is present in “nostalgia for a lost past, the pain of estrangement, and the specter of war,” according to Mono’s statement about the play, which was one of Moawad’s first works.

Theater is “accessible to distant audiences”

Boulos considered that “Mawad presenting a play in Beirut amid the current circumstances in Lebanon is a true message of peace.”

It is noteworthy that about two weeks ago, Moawad’s appointment as director of the “La Colline” theater was renewed for a term that will last until the year 2027, after he held the position since 2016.

The Ministry of Culture explained in a statement that the renovation of Mouawad “has provided, since 2016 (…) an innovative project and an ambitious artistic programme.”

The ministry also noted that he “is considered one of the most collectible artists in theater today” and that he “pays special attention to contemporary authors.”

The Ministry congratulated Mouawad “for his ability to emphasize the international dimension by embracing works from Europe, North America, and the Middle East,” and for making the theater dedicated since its founding in 1988 to contemporary writing “accessible to audiences far from it.”

It is noteworthy that Wagdi Moawad studied theater in France, where he directed a number of classic theatrical works, as well as works he wrote himself, in which he focused on issues of immigration and family relations. He assumed artistic management of the French Theater at the National Arts Center in Ottawa, and founded two theater groups in France and Canada.

He has become strongly present in the French and international theatrical scene.