Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF)Presents Arabic Adaptation Of Shakespeare’s Richard II
Palestinian group Ashtar to present Arabic adaptation of the historical work at Souk Madinat Jumeirah’s Madinat Theatre on January 17 & 18
Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment, an agency of the Department of Economic Development and organizers of Dubai Shopping Festival will present yet another cultural bonanza during the ongoing DSF 2013 in the form of Shakespeare’s Richard II in Arabic.
The Arabic adaptation of the Bard of Avon’s epic tale of the lion-hearted king of England will be staged by Ramallah, Palestine-based theatre group “Ashtar” at the Madinat Theatre in Souk Madinat Jumeirah on Thursday, January 17 and Friday, January 18 starting at 8pm.
The play is part of a series of 37 performances of the great playwright’s work in 37 different languages that was produced as part of London’s 2012 Cultural Olympiad by The Globe, London’s replica of Shakespeare’s original theater devoted to the production and study of his work. Titled Globe to Globe, the series included works in Japanese, Greek, Spanish, Turkish, Korean, several African languages such as Shona and Yoruba, several Indian languages including Gujarati, Hindi and Urdu, and two performances in Arabic with one each from South Sudan and Palestine.
Ashtar bring their direct storytelling style to Shakespeare’s classic play of politics, dislocation and insurrection written in 1595. Performed in Arabic and infused with the tumultuous energy of the Arab Spring, Ashtar’s production of this powerful play in history is a re-contextualizing initiative for today’s global audience.
The play begins with Richard, the English king, banishing his cousin Bolingbroke and Duke Mowbray. When Richard’s uncle, Bolingbroke’s father, dies, Richard sells his inherited land to fund a war against Ireland. An unpopular move by an unpopular king, the people then support Bolingbroke on his return to overthrow Richard and seize his crown. With interpretations of this piece swapping characters of benevolence and malice, the story’s conclusion leaves the people with a renewed cycle of power and its abuse.
The Arabic adaptation of the play by Ashtar was an original one created by the company as a group, based on an older Egyptian version. In the span of one month with the help of Conall Morrison, the play’s Irish director, they worked on the new script.
“I worked through it with them explaining how the speeches work, what is being said, how Shakespeare’s dramatic language operates. They sat together as a group to work on it and then I would ask them to translate it back to me into English. We went back and forth until we felt that we kind of got it,” Morrison explains.
Shakespearian renditions are not new to many. Interest in this show has ranged from interest in international theater, to interest in this particular piece, or the desire to see it as a Palestinian interpretation in particular. Throughout the play, Shakespeare’s universality is apparent in the subtlety of the Palestinian and Middle Eastern symbols. The music throughout is a strong and appropriate choice, with the dramatic Oud sound performed by the Palestinian band, Le Trios Gibran. Costume designer, London-based Rajha Shakiry, aimed to mix styles, including a female farmer’s jalabaya of traditional Palestinian embroidery.
“The point is that we are not trying to say that this is a Palestinian performance but rather a generic Middle Eastern look of armies, dynasties and monarchies,” explains Morrison, describing the government officials’ suits in particular.
The play is brought to DSF 2013 by Art For All and tickets can be bought from the Madinat Jumeirah Box Office, on line at www.madinattheatre.com, or by calling 050-8805074.
Emirate: Dubai
Date: Jan 14, 2013
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