Description
Book SynopsisThis book highlights the so far unappreciated merit of the Syrian playwrights Durayd Lahham and Muhammad al-Maghout, whose plays are representative of the new wave of Arab theatrical realisation in general and Syrian protest plays in particular. 'Ghawwar', the famous character type created by Lahham, combines art with politics, the past with modern times, lower class-consciousness and identity with Pan-Arab nationalism, and East with West. He also symbolizes a poetical link between the 'bitter cup' of a miserable present and the 'holy rain' of a better future.
Trade Review"An excellent contribution to the study of the dynamics of the Arab cultural system in modern times, especially against the background of the current limited research in the field..." -- Professor Reuven Snir, Dept. of Arabic Language & Literature, University of Haifa.
Table of ContentsTheatrical Genres and the Carnivalesque: Art of the Theatre; Theatre in the Arab World: The Historical Background; The Early Comedies of Durayd Lahham and Nihad Qal'i: Birth Pangs of Late Satire; When a Gay Rogue Grows to be a Tragic Fool: The Carnivalesque Satires; Index.
