The Theatre of Sa'dallah Wannous
A Critical Study of the Syrian Playwright and Public Intellectual

Offers new perspectives on Sa'dallah Wannous' significance as a playwright and public intellectual in the Arab world and world theatre.

Sonja Mejcher-Atassi (Edited by), Robert Myers (Edited by)

9781108838566, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 27 May 2021

290 pages
15 x 23 x 2 cm, 0.51 kg

'… a very welcome addition to the library of scholars of the Arab world, academics and dramatists interested in the life and work of a leading figure of Arab and world drama, and for anyone interested in the cultural politics of Syria in the last decades of the twentieth century … this volume is both timely and valuable.' Jonathan H. Shannon, Critical Stages/Scènes critiques

The Theatre of Sa'dallah Wannous is the first book in English to provide a clear sense of the significance and complexity of Wannous' life and work. It is unique in bringing cross-disciplinary scholarship on Wannous together and aligning it with cultural practice and memory by including contributions from leading academics as well as renowned cultural figures from the Arab world. This volume should be of interest to literary and theatre studies scholars, cultural historians, theatre practitioners and anyone who cares about contemporary theatre, Syria and the Arab world. Collectively, the contributions demonstrate the role of cultural production - especially dramatic literature - in providing a portrait of and shaping a culture in the throes of profound transformation.

Introduction Robert Myers and Sonja Mejcher-Atassi
Part I. Situating Wannous: 1. Wannous, Syrian and world drama Marvin Carlson
2. Wannous and Brecht: The Playwright as Political Activist Robert Myers and Nada Saab
Part II. Reading Wannous: 3. Keeping Silent, or the Silence that Kept Wannous Zeina G. Halabi
4. The Failure of Revolutionary Humanism: Reading Wannous with Fanon Friederike Pannewick
5. Historiography as Resistance in the Later Plays of Wannous Edward Ziter
Part III. Staging Wannous: 6. Rituals Transformed: Wannous, Intercultural Translation, and the Widening Gyre Margaret Litvin
7. Speaking the Unspeakable: On Directing Wannous Sahar Assaf
8. Conversation with Contemporary Playwright Mohammad Al Attar Mohammad Al-Attar
Part IV. Remembering Wannous
9. Unpacking Wannous' Library Sonja Mejcher-Atassi
10. A Student of Theatre in Paris Farouk Mardam-Bey
11. Grammar of Life and Death Elias Khoury
12. Be What You Want to Be Dima Wannous.

Subject Areas: Middle Eastern history [HBJF1], Literature: history & criticism [DS], Theatre studies [AN]