Wednesday, October 9, 2013

CSI: The Al-Hamlet Summit

Basic Intro
  •  Adaptations of Shakespeare have been a staple of the modern Arab theatre since late 19th Century
    • The adaptations are mostly done in Standard Arabic which is the formal version of Arabic usually used by academics
  • Adaptations stemmed from a variety of sources such as British texts, French plays, Italian operas, German novels, Soviet films, American productions and adaptations
  • The first Arabic encounter with Shakespeare was in Egypt when Syrian-Lebanese immigrants remade French translations of Shakespeare for the Cairo middle class
    • These adaptations were meant for filling theatres and not for reading
    • Hamlet was first performed in Egypt around 1893
  • In 2006, the World Shakespeare Congress in Brisbane formally embraced Arab Shakespeare
  • The first performance of The Al-Hamlet Summit
    • In Arabic with English surtitles
    • Performed at the Edinburg International Fringe Festival in August 2002
    • Was awarded the Fringe First Award for excellence and innovation in writing and directing
  • One year after 9/11, in Sept 2002, The Al-Hamlet Summit won Best Performance and Best Director in the 14th Cairo International Festival of Experimental Theatre
  • The author, Al-Bassam
    • Kuwaiti father and English Mother
    • Born in Kuwait, raised in England
    • Founded the London-based Zaoum Theater Company in 1996
    • Has three Shakespearean adaptions
      • Hamlet = Al-Hamlet, a reworking of Hamlet in Kuwait, aka the Arab League Hamlet
        • Hamlet in Kuwait and The Arab Leauge Hamlet retained more of Shakespeare’s verse 
        • When first writing Al-Hamlet Summit in 2002, Al-Bassam did not intend to write an adaptation of Hamlet 
      • Romeo and Juliet = Trading
      • Richard III = Richard III: An Arab Tragedy
  • The events in The Al-Hamlet Summit happen over several days or months, it’s not specified
Context
  • Openly political Arab adaptations of Shakespeare have existed since the 1970s, however they became more popular in the West following the 9/11 attacks
  • Why Hamlet?
    • Al-bassam's choice of Hamlet plays on the Western assumption of equating Arabs with war and violence
    • Publicity
  • Al-Bassam wanted to represent the Arab World to the West, he writes on behalf of the Arabs
  • 9/11
    • Strongly affected the plot
    • Proved that the West and theArab world are strongly intertwined
      • Arms dealer represents the West, and is present throughout the play, with every character (see subtext for more information)
      • Fortinbras's army is backed by the West
      • "The events of 9/11and the political fallout since have drawn to light the inextricable intertwining of the fates of Arab people and those of the West. The text and production of The Al-Hamlet Summit presented here… explores that cultural symbiosis.” Al-Bassam
    • Globalization – an indication of the intertwining of the Arabs and the Wes
      • The results of 9/11 quickly spread to the Arab World through technology
      • Globalization did little to increase dialogue between cultures, Al-Bassam believes art and literature increases the dialogue
    • Arab political structures of the time according to Al-Bassam
      • The corrupt, autocratic, mostly western supported leaders running countries into the ground
      • The radical Islamist groups proposing moral and social systems that do not reflect the wants of the people
  • Before each showing, the capital cities mentioned satirically in Act 3 have to be changed so as not to offend Arab ambassadors in the audience
  • Once showing in Tehran was delayed two hours so that a censor could view the play before the audience, the audience waited outside in the snow
    • The censor argued with Al-Bassam over the mention of the Koran in Act 4, Al-Bassam argued that it was the most clear and definite example of Islam’s condemnation of violence (also intertext)
  • Another showing in Cairo led to a riot
    • Small theatre but high demand for tickets
    • Rumors circulated that the play was an imperialist jig which created the riot
    • To fix the situation the actors put on a command performance at midnight
  • An Arab theatre critic accused Al-Bassam of receiving funding from a covert Israeli organization     
    • Al- Bassam states that even though Fortinbras mentions Israel, the play is not about Israeli-Arab issues
    • However, violence in the Middle East must include Israel
  • The conversation between Laertes and Ophelia in Act 1
    • In Arab linguistic and social context the sexual imagery in the conversation does not necessarily entail sexual intention
    • Laertes is trying to frighten her
Intertext
  • Hamlet
    • It's an adaptation of Hamlet
    • Al -Bassam removed what he though were the non-essential characters, such as Horatio
    • The ghost of Hamlet's father is replace with the Arms Dealer
      • He gives Hamlet the leaflets that announce that Claudius killed Old Hamlet (instead of hearing it from the ghost)
      • Arms Dealer maintains the unreliability that the Ghost possessed as the audience is unsure of his motives and role in most of the play
      • Clear connection to the West (see subtext for more information)
    • In  Hamlet, Claudius reacts to Ferdinand and Norway’s threat with diplomacy but in The Al-Hamlet Summit Claudius jumps straight to the use of force
  • Ophelia quotes Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish’s “Ramallah 2002” in her farewell video
  • Koran
    • Act 4, page 75, when God’s voice comes over the intercom and bids Hamlet not to harm his mother
    • Verse 28, Serra 5
    • 5 Daily Prayers
    • The  idea of religion and religious extremism is extremely important
      • Hamlet portrays an Islamic Extremist, and a large part of the plot revolves around the issue of extremism
  • Five Daily Prayers as titles of the acts
    • Indicators  of mood by the quality of the light at those times and not the actual time of the events within the acts
    • "A metaphorical temporal structure for the development of action over a single unit of time” (Al-Bassam)
  • The Grave Dwellers monologue echoes words of the Prophet
  • Horse of War Scene
    • A spoof on the epic literary tradition of the Noble Arab Warrior / horseman
    • Al-Bassam wanted to mirror the theatricality of “The Mousetrap” without the classical references such as Pyrrhus and Hecuba
Subtext
  • Al- Bassam did not intend for Al-Hamlet Summit to represent the views of any particular Arab community, he attempted to express the concerns and issues of the Arab World (especially relating to the West) in general
  • Al -Bassam intended to address Western concerns (the rise of extremism and Islamic fundamentalism)
    • Particularly why and how extremism happens
  • Hamlet’s transformation into an extremist and a terrorist parallels Osama bin Laden’s rise
    • Al-Bassam calls Hamlet at the end of the play a “figure similar to Osama bin Laden”
  • Claudius’ speech at the end of the play on the News Network is similar to speeches and lines spoken by George W. Bush, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden and Ariel Sharon
  • Religion vs. Government – Hamlet fires from the Mosque, Claudius fires from the Palace
    • According to Al-Bassam
      • Claudius’ view on power (which is also God) is that it is materially on corruption, betrayal and sordidness
      • Hamlet’s view on power (which is also God) is that it is an ideological structure based on faith, purity, and heritage
  • The Arms Dealer
    • Wears the outfit of a post-colonial opportunist (words of Al-Bassam)
    • He is also a symbol of the West who will arm anyone willing to pay even if it means arming opponents
  • Claudius can be seen as a Saddam Hussein figure

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