Masks, fabrics and destinies
Masks, fabrics and destinies
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The second day of a two-day performance by the El Hanager theater company, as part of Art Summit Indonesia 2004, will be staged on Wednesday at Graha Bhakti Budaya, Taman Ismail Marzuki, Central Jakarta.
Aqnea, Aqmesha, wa Massaer (Masks, Fabrics and Destinies) is a piece written by Kassem Muhammad, an expatriate Iraqi artist living in the United Arab Emirates and directed by HaniEl-Mettenawi. This production, which is filled with young actors, is a refreshing burst of life and full of ideas.
Previously, Hani El-Mettenawy also directed Mohamed Abul- Seoud's Meta-Phaedra which represented Egypt in CIFET (Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre) 2001. Aqnea Aqmesha wa Massaer was presented at the 15th Egyptian International Experimental Theater Festival in 2003.
The performance was chosen to represent Egypt in the festival, alongside festival icon Walid Aouni. The wisdom of the selection committee was proven when Aqnea, Aqmesha wa Massaer won the award for best ensemble piece.
The world is projected as an endless dark tunnel, one big prison, one mass grave, and a deadly game of chess-cum-gory battlefield inhabited by monstrous, warring creatures, half- human, half-beast. In the world, time has been annulled, love perishes, innocence goes blind and women give birth astride the grave.
The force of the imagery is enhanced by the vocal composition, which is equally intricate and evocative. Whether the actors hiss, whisper, hum and chant, or groan, lament and scream, it is invariably according to a careful calculated pattern of sound and silences and in the rhythm with Abu Bakr El-Sherif's music and drums.
The play is an outstanding example for the dramatic potential of the struggle of peace and war. While this is not a war saga, it sums up the history of mankind by elaborating the themes of war and peace in some very creative ways.
The story begins in the darkness on the stage, with one spotlight focused on an imaginary-like figure, who almost appears to be suspended from a high ceiling. A woman's voice is heard warning people of the fate they will face as a result of their weakness and greed.
After a beautiful and poetic monologue, Teiresias, the world's oldest seer -- present when Oedipus tried to escape destiny, not realizing that he was running straight into it -- takes the stage.
Initially in the story, Kassem focussed on Iraq, the destruction and massive loss of life it has suffered in two successive wars and the rule of terror that paved the way for both of them. During rehearsals, however, the author and director, Hani El-Mettenawi, decided to expand the scope of the work.
"We thought it would be better to transform it into a general condemnation of the power/blood lust that has bedeviled humanity since the beginning of creation," Hani said.