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Showing posts with label Adaptations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adaptations. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

OEDIPUS ON THE NILE: TRANSLATIONS AND ADAPTIONS OF SOPHOCLES' OEDIPUS TYRANNOS IN EGYPT, 1900-1970

OEDIPUS ON THE NILE


By Cormack, Raphael Christian (https://ergamegala.wordpress.com/)


[Retrieved from https://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/23624 on 06/08/2010]


Between 1900 and 1970 seven different versions of Sophocles’ play Oedipus Tyrannos were performed or published in Arabic in Egypt. This thesis looks at the first 71 years’ history of this iconic Greek tragedy in Arabic and the ways it can be used to think through the cultural debates of the period. The long history of contact between Greece and Egypt and the 19th and 20th century interpretations of this history can be used to look at different models of colonial and post-colonial cultural interaction. Classicism offered Egyptian writers a constructive way of looking at their cultural identity and contemporary world – a way which takes in to account the legacies of colonialism but also engages Greek literature to create their own models of nationhood. Following the history of performance and adaptation of the play throughout the 20th century, this thesis offers close readings of the most prominent adaptations of Oedipus, particularly those of Farah Antun (whose text was used for Actor-Director George Abyad’s first version of the play in 1912), Tawfiq al-Hakim (1949), Ali Ahmed Bakathir (1949) and Ali Salem (1970). Using performance and translation theory, I show how performance of translated plays like Oedipus was a crucial but complex part of the formation of an Egyptian dramatic tradition through the dynamic interaction of diverse views of what the theatre should be, using, for instance, the role of singing in turn of the century drama. This thesis also revisits and revises misconceptions about the relationship between Islam and theatre. In addition to examining Egyptian Oedipus’ 19th and 20th century context, I also stress the contribution of performance and adaptation to readings of the original text. In particular, these versions of Oedipus ask questions about monarchical rule and democracy that form one link between this classical play and 20th century Egypt. Through its interdisciplinary approach as well as the close readings it offers, this thesis aims to make valuable contributions to the fields of Arabic Theatre Studies and Classical Reception in Colonial and Post-Colonial contexts as well as Performance and Translation Theory.
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Thursday, October 5, 2017

The Algerian Iliad by Cheikh Zakaria (1908-1977)

The Algerian Iliad by Cheikh Zakaria (1908-1977)


The Algerian Iliad is an epic poem of 1001 verse lines composed by Cheikh Zakaria (1908-1977), the poet of the Algerian revolution, to celebrate the long history of the Algerian people's resistance against foreign occupations from "the most ancient times to the present day", as  Mouloud Kacem (1927-1992), the famous  Algerian politician, philosopher, historian, and writer, stated in the preface of the printed poem. Mouloud Kacem was the one who commissioned Cheikh Zakaria to compose this poem. With its 1001 verse lines, it is not only an Iliad, but a clear parody to One Thousand and One Nights of the famous folk tales know as Arabian Nights.


A first short version of this poem of only 610 verse lines was recited by Cheikh Zakaria himself in the inauguration of the sixth conference of the Islamic thought on July 24, 1972 in Club of Pines in Algeria where Houari Boumédiène (1932-1978), Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, was one of the participants. There is a recording on You Tube where one can listen to the very sensational recitation by the author himself. Here it is:




Sunday, September 14, 2014

The Tragedy of Oedipus: An Arabic Adaptation by Ali Ahmed Bakatheer

An Arabic Islamic reproduction of Sophocles, Oedipus Rex by the writer Ali Ahmed Bakatheer. An audio track on YouTube produced by the Egyptian Radio and TV union  and performed by some of Egyptians famous actors. I can even recognize the voice of the actress  Samiha Ayoub (Jocasta). Because of her long and outstanding  performance in the stage she is called "Arab theatre's leading lady". Oedipus is performed by the Egyptian actor Karam Motawea (Wikipedia page is in Arabic sorry, there is no English page for this actor, but if interested you could translate it by Google). There is also an audio file in Archive.org here: https://archive.org/details/OedipusTheKing

I'm listening to it now. Wow ! this is wonderful !