JORDANIE / JORDAN

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Histoire récente du Théâtre Recent Theatre History JORDAN updated Sat Dec 18 19:52:53 2004

First phase (The Fifties): Theatre was known in Jordan at the beginning of the century through some historical and religious plays, and a number of translated ones. These plays were performed in schools and churches and in cities and villages and Bedouin zones. Some good examples of the plays are "The Conquest of Andalus" by Sheikh F. Khatib, "The Hostage" by Mohammed Muheisen, and "The Arabs' Evening" by Othman Kassem as well as many others. Many of these plays were presented in expression of the national feelings dominant in that era of colonialism (The Battle of Yarmouk, Blood in Algeria, Salah el din Al Ayoubi, Kadissya Battle). Second phase: (Translated Universal Plays) 1964-1972 During this phase theatre life was confined to the plays performed by the first Jordanian troupe of young talents under the name, "The Jordan Theatre Family", managed and directed by Hani Snober. This troupe had a repertoire of translated Western plays and was regarded as a pioneer theatre troupe that paved the way for theatre life in Jordan. Third phase: (The Arabic Plays) 1972-1979 More directors, actors and academics graduated from Arab Western and Eastern countries which eventually influenced theatre life positively in Jordan. Many Arabic plays were produced in Jordan mainly in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and many had the chance to participate in festivals in the Arab world. This Era was the actual bridge for the coming years in terms of experimental works and Jordanian "identity oriented" plays. Fourth Phase: (The experimental phase) 1980's During the Eighties Jordanian Theatre witnessed more courageous experiments on plays due to the interrelations between the experience of the traditional and that of the young directors. New theatre troupes were formed: Al Fawanees Troupe, the Popular Theatre Troupe, Al-Mawal Troupe and many others. Independent directors initiated workshops and experimental theatre projects and plunged into creative writing and directing in search of their own identity and perception. Mystical and celebrational style of plays appeared; plays in which Arabic elements of theatre are dominant: historians, story-telling, traditional chants and rites and mythology. This style best known in the Fawanees Troupe projects with Nader Omran as scenographer-writer and director and Khaled Tarifi's Plays as independent director-writer and with Sawsan Darwaza as collective workshop multimedia director. Other theatre experiments plunged into the Jordanian Palestinian folklore and topics (Abdul Latif Shamma writer director, Abdul Latif Aquel/writer). During this period quality musical classics were produced, such as "Annie", designed and directed by Venessa Batroni and Saad Batayneh, "The Wizard of Oz" (Arabianized version) designed and directed by Saad Batayneh and Lina Al-Tal. In mid eighties, collective workshops and group writing also appeared through projects that were an attempt to enhance team work and creative exchange between artists of different visions, an experiment which was led by Director producer Sawsan Darwaza. An interesting awareness of the identity crisis that was perturbing the Jordanian individual evolved. Western plays were not translated any more, efforts were made to adapt them and work within Arab concepts and independent visions. This approach best known in the plays of Hani Snobar/director, Hatem Al-Sayyed/director, Jamil Awad actor/director, Nasser Omar actor/director.. Theatre-in-education specialists initiated programs and workshops in schools and among teachers in an attempt to introduce drama in the government curicula and to produce quality children's plays. Best examples of these are the NHF Theatre Program directed by Lina Al-Tal and the I.D.E.A. workshops conducted by Samar Duddeen. And Juliet Awad (teacher actress) Pioneer of Children . Margo Maltigian/head of friends of Children's Club in her folktales yearly productions. Wafa' Ksous (puppeteer) whose work centres on a model puppet plays for children based on folktales. In the late eighties, socio-political issues were of interest to many directors and writers and were dealt with through metaphorical methods using Arab mythology and popular tales or Arab architypes or adapted novels and short stories. This approach is best known in the plays of Jamal Abu-Hamdan, playwright, Jamil Awad director/writer, Walid Saif, playwright, Fathi Abdul Rahman director/writer and Naser Omar actor/writer. In spite of all these efforts, theatre remained relatively in isolation to its audience and at many times was suspected to cater only for the intellectuals as compared with television drama, which had a much wider appeal. This was also partly due to the absence of theatre-going traditions. Fifth phase: Into the Nineties The journey of Jordanian Theatre during the 1990s was productive in many ways and for many reasons. The Gulf War which resulted in the Arab boycott of Jordanian Television Drama created a boom of commercial theatre which dealt with current affairs and attracted audiences thirsty for an outlet through which they could laugh at their reality. The Ministry of Culture organized the first annual Jordanian Theatre Festival for adults in 1991 which in turn initiated festivals of Children's Theatre and Youth Theatre funded and produced by the government and the Artists' Association to encourage new graduates and practitioners to produce quality work. This also allowed the exposure of a wider audience to experimental plays. These festivals eventually became one of the most important channels enhancing theatre life in Jordan. Young directors became more active, names like Hakim Harb, Hassan Sabayleh, Ziad Jallal, and Mohamed Dmour appeared on the scene and their originaly written plays won awards in the Jordanian Youth Festival as well as in other Arab Festivals. As democracy became integrated into the Jordanian socio-political life, the relative advent of freedom of speech invigorated theatre life in Jordan. Several new groups were formed like the Nabil Mashini Theatre and the Nabil and Hisham Theatre, Rabii' Shhab Theatre, Ammoun Theatre, and many other auditoriums and cinema houses were transformed into theatres. These theatre houses became the location for daily commercial comedy theatre which continues to gain ground. Prominent directors continued their journeys and matured through their experiments, trying to get out of their intellectual exiles. Under pressure from the hugely popular commercial comedy daily theatre, they attempted to attract audiences through equally relevant subjects with minimum compromise to their experimental methodologies in theatre. Consequently, a good number of plays was produced within the Jordanian Theatre Festivals and independently. These plays noticeably revolved around the war theme and the new diaspora (in particular the Gulf War which was the echo of other conflicts and wars in ou region) its aftermath its social political repercussions upon the individual became the main topic. Some such examples are Fathi Abdul-Rahman's "Soft Sand", Sawsan Darwaza's "The Triangle of Time" and "Waiting for Godot" (Arabianized version), Jamil Awad's "Strangers Don't Drink Coffee", Khalid Tariffi's "You Are Not You", Lina Al Tal "Time Impressions", and three additional plays produced by the Al-Fawanees Troupe directed by Nader Omran. Although experimental theatre did try to embrace the collective spirit of theatre work through large cast plays and creative writing workshops, ultimately the writer's/director's persona dominated the theatrical scene. The small cast play emerged, and the "Monodrama" genre became en vogue. This was mainly due to economic reasons, and the difficulty to organize theatre people into one team. Sixth phase : Out of the Nineties : The major changes in this period were : - the Artist's Association became a union with more advantages to artists in various fields. - Topics like peace, normlaization, Middle Eastern cultural exchange were predominant in the theatre field and became major controversies. - Theatre festivals remained the major theatre expression channel and consequently the theatre movement was concentrated on the occasion and celebrational aspect. Major directors and producers started contemplating and requestioning their theatre experience and methodology preparing to enter the new millenium.

Représentants nationaux des OING théâtrales (ASSITEJ,AICT,AITA,FIA,FIRT,SIBMAS,UNIMA,OISTAT etc.) National Representatives of Theatre INGOs JORDAN updated Sat Dec 18 19:52:53 2004

The Noor Al Hussein Foundation (NHF), P.O. Box 926687, Amman-Jordan Tel: 6-569 02 92, Fax: 6-569 02 91, Contact: Lina Al-Tall (Director of the performing Arts Centre)

UNIMA

Principaux organismes qui s'occupent du théâtre (Ministères, organismes publics, associations professionnelles) Main organisations concerned with theatre (Ministries, organizations, unions, professional associations) JORDAN updated Sat Dec 18 19:52:53 2004

The Ministry of Culture, Amman-Jordan Box 6140, Tel: 6-569 73 59, Fax: 6-569 73 59

Directorate of Theatres and Arts, Amman, Jordan P.O. Box 6140, Tel: 6-463 93 17, Fax: 6-646 13 34, Contact: Mr. Nabil Nejem

The National Library, Amman-Jordan P.O. Box 6070, Tel: 6-461 03 11, Fax: 6-461 68 32, Contact: Mr. Ali Kuba'a

Principaux Théâtres, Opéra, Ballet, Danse etc. Main Theatres, Operas, Ballets, Danse etc. JORDAN updated Sat Dec 18 19:52:53 2004

The Royal Cultural Centre, Main Theatre- Studio Theatre, Amman-Jordan P.O. Box 19123, Tel: 6-566 90 27, Fax: 6-566 90 81, Comments: State Theatre

The Palace of Culture Theatre, Al Hussein Youth City, Amman-Jordan P.O. Box 19027, Tel: 6-568 81 51, Fax: 6-567 67 00, Comments: State Theatre

Al Hasan Ben Talal Auditorium, Jordan University, Amman-Jordan Tel: 6-535 50 00, Fax: 6-535 55 11/22, Comments: State Theatre

The Sami Al Rifai'I Theatre, Jordan University, Amman-Jordan Tel: 6-535 50 00, Fax: 6-535 55 11/22, Comments: State Theatre

Yarmouk Drama Theatre, Yarmouk University, Irbid-Jordan P.O. Box 566, Tel: 2-727 11 00, Fax: 2-727 47 25, Comments: State Theatre

Ousama Mashini, Directory of Theatre and Art, Amman-Jordan P.O. Box 6140, Tel: 6-463 63 91 - 6-463 93 17, Fax: 6-464 13 34, Comments: State Theatre

Nabil Mashsini Theatre, Abdali, Amman-Jordan Tel: 6-567 55 71, Fax: 6-569 19 00, Comments: Other major established theatre

Hisham Yanes Theatre, Amman, 1st Circle, Amman-Jordan Tel: 6-462 51 55, Fax: 6-464 01 55, Comments: Other major established theatre

Ammoun Theatre, Abdali, Amman-Jordan Tel: 6-461 82 74/5, Comments: Other major established theatre

Baccalauriate School Theatre, Tel: 6-541 11 96, Fax: 6-541 11 97, Comments: Community Theatre

The New English School Theatre, Tel: 6-551 71 11, Fax: 6-551 61 00, Comments: Community Theatre

Haya Centre Theatre, Amman-Jordan P.O. Box 35022, Tel: 962-6-665194/5, Comments: Community Theatre

Al Fawanees Theatre Group, Amman 11185, Jordan P.O.Box 850749, Tel: 6-585 73 53, Fax: 6-585 73 53, Contact: Nader Omran (Manager), Comments: Community Theatre

Haya Centre Theatre, Amman-Jordan P.O. Box 35022, Tel: 6-566 51 94/5, Contact: Nader Omran (Manager), Comments: Community Theatre

Mawal Troupe, Amman-Jordan P.O. Box 6140, Tel: 6-463 63 91, Fax: 6-585 73 53, Contact: Ghanam Ghanam (Manager), Comments: Theatre Group

Rahallah Theatre Troupe, Amman - Jordan P.O.Box 6140, Tel: 6-463 63 91, Contact: Hakim Harb (Manager), Comments: Theatre Group

Principaux festivals des arts de la scène Main performing arts festivals JORDAN updated Sat Dec 18 19:52:53 2004

The Jordan Theatre Festival, Ministry of Culture, Amman-Jordan P.O. Box 6140, Tel: 6-569 73 59, Fax: 6-569 65 98, Period: mid-December, Frequency: biannually

The Jerash Festival for Culture & Arts, Amman-Jordan P.O. Box 910582, Tel: 6-568 61 97, Fax: 6-568 61 98, Period: by mid-July, Frequency: annually, Contact: Mr. Tarek Masarweh

Amman Theatre Days International Festival, Fawanees Theatre Group, Amman 11185 Jordan P.O. Box 850749, Tel: 6-585 73 53, Period: 27 of March, Frequency: annually

The Jordan Children's, Ministry of Culture, Amman-Jordan P.O. Box 6140, Tel: 6-569 73 59, Fax: 6-569 65 98, Frequency: bi annually alternating with Arabian Song Festival, Comments: Theatre Festival

The Youth Theatre Festival, Artist's Association, Amman-Jordan P.O. Box 910276, Tel: 6-464 68 10, Fax: 6-464 58 40, Period: Spring, Frequency: biannually

Principales écoles des arts de la scène et départements de théâtre des universités Main performing arts schools & university theatre departments JORDAN updated Sat Dec 18 19:52:53 2004

Yarmouk University, Department of Drama (acting - directing), Yarmouk University, Irbid-Jordan Tel: 2-727 11 00, Fax: 2-727 47 52

Principaux centres de documentation théâtrale (musées,bibliothèques etc.) Main performing arts resource centres (museums, libraries, research & documentation centres,specialist publishers & bookshops etc.) JORDAN updated Sat Dec 18 19:52:53 2004

The National Library (and Documents), Amman-Jordan P.O. Box 6070, Tel: 6-461 03 11, Fax: 6-461 68 32

Yarmouk University Library, Irbid-Jordan Tel: 2-727 11 00, Fax: : 2-727 47 25

National Centre for Culture & Education, (Friends of Children's Clubs), Amman-Jordan P.O. Box 3012, Tel: 6-462 34 75, Fax: 6-462 34 75

Principaux journaux et revues des arts de la scène Main performing arts magazines JORDAN updated Sat Dec 18 19:52:53 2004

The Generations Voice, Frequency: Quarterly, Ministry of Culture

Arts Magazine, Frequency: Quarterly, Ministry of Culture

Bibliographie - oeuvres de référence Selected Bibliographic data - important references JORDAN updated Sat Dec 18 19:52:53 2004

Panorama on the Jordanian Theatre Movement (1977-1983), Mahmoud Ismail Badr, Amman 1983

Documents of Jordanian Theatre, Mufeed Hawamdeh, Amman-Yarmouk University & Research Centre, 1986

Theatre in Jordan (1918-1950), Abdul Latif Shama & Ahmad Shuqum, Amman Artist Association