Arabic Theatre Weekend- A Review of Amman's Arts

During my first true weekend after moving to Amman, I took advantage of some of the many opportunities to experience the arts in Jordan. Soon after arriving here I became aware of several cultural centers and art galleries while reading The Jordan Times, a daily English newspaper I have been picking up from time to time, and made a pledge to myself to take some of the exhibits and productions in when it worked with my schedule. Among the various offerings I came across was a play called Mariam and the Story Returns, a Saudi Arabian production being put on at the Hussein Cultural Center in downtown Amman. After doing a bit of research on this center, I was impressed to see it was ranked the third best option for theatre entertainment in the Middle East by Lonely Planet.

Despite extremely overcast weather and almost constant rain throughout the weekend, I set out from my apartment to navigate the vast public transportation system available in Amman. I was very pleased to discover a bus hub only a few hundred meters from my apartment building that has regular buses going to the downtown area. Even better is that the bus fee is a mere thirty pastries, equivalent to roughly forty cents. The ride to the downtown area was brief and I soon found myself in an area of Amman I first visited as a tourist six months ago. Amman’s city center is the heart of the Old City and like this area of most cities it retains more of the original culture and true character of its home country. For this reason and many others, especially the greater prevalence of non-English speaking Jordanians, I have an intense affection for this area and in the future may try to relocate closer to it.

After leaving the bus I then made my way to the Hussein Cultural Center and took a few minutes to walk around the complex.The center is a modern and beautifully constructed building that, along with all other structures throughout Amman, is faced with local white stone, which is a requirement of a local municipal law. I believe this ordinance has helped give Amman an alluring and charming atmosphere and has prevented it from becoming too modernly homogeneous. I made my way to the theatre area a few minutes before the doors opened and found myself waiting in the company of local arts aficionados, the likes of which can be found in all regions of the world. I wish more people in the western world knew it is these same kinds of people and other ‘normal’ types also found in the west who truly make up the population of the Middle East, and not the radicals that unfortunately garner all the attention in the media. Were language not a barrier, these similar groups from opposite ends of the world would likely enjoy great conversation and sharing of ideas. Regardless, I was happy to be in the company of other like-minded people who appreciate the arts.

When the doors opened I entered into the auditorium area and found a seat in the fourth row. One thing I noticed here that I have not seen elsewhere was that a program and a small basket containing dates had been placed on each of the seats throughout the auditorium, which has a capacity between 150 - 200 people. Being hungry anyway, I enjoyed the delicious dates, which were among the freshest I have ever had, while I tried to decipher the Arabic on the program. It contained all the typical information one would expect to find on a playbill, including the names of the musicians, cast members, director, producer, and others associated with the production.

Not long after sitting, the lights dimmed and the show began. Despite recently feeling pleased with myself and how well my Arabic has come back to me relatively quickly since returning to the Middle East, I soon found myself mostly lost in the quick dialogue of the actors onstage. I was able to follow certain parts by catching various words, but I must be honest and say that I was not able to follow the majority of the speaking. This did not prevent me from appreciating the show, however, as I thoroughly enjoyed the music, overall visual presentation, and the high caliber of the acting. In terms of the size and scope of the production, it was relatively small; there were about eleven total cast members of which all but one were adult men between perhaps twenty and forty-five years old. The only female player was the young girl who played Mariam, who appeared to be about eleven years old. She was absolutely fantastic in this role, and easily won over the entire audience, something I gathered from the reception she received at the end.

The cast members wore almost only white clothing, which created a stark contrast to the overall dim lighting that was employed throughout the play. The lighting that was used had an overall red-orange feel and when coupled with the fog/steam that was also used, created a somewhat eerie and otherworldly feel. This was intensified even more by some of the visual imagery that that the cast members generated through their movements using a large white sheet that was prevalent through most of the show. This sheet, which was probably the equivalent of 100 square meters, had several head-sized holes cut into it in which the actors, in more than one instance, stuck their heads through and then wrapped the sheet around their bodies. While doing this, they also at times moved their arms, hands, and legs underneath the sheet in ways that created unique imagery along with the aforementioned lighting. The movements were superbly choreographed and well executed, and together made for a very entertaining display.

The music that went along with all of this was provided by a group of only three musicians, one was a classical guitarist/vocalist and two were percussionists, including one who played tabla. The overall mood of the music paired perfectly with the visual imagery and helped add to the mystique and sometimes tense atmosphere of the show. In terms of its form, I thought it was similar to much classical Middle Eastern music and was done quite well.

(Author’s Note: The following section was written after the previous excerpt and in a different writing session).

The day after my first play at the Hussein Cultural Center, I again had an opportunity to take in a free theatrical production and am very glad I did so. This performance, put on by a Libyan troupe, was in stark contrast to Mariam and the Story Returns in nearly all aspects. While Mariam seemed to be more of a classical/traditional play that relied heavily on implied ideas and imaginative imagery, Khararef (I am not sure of the exact translation) was a modern play that employed entirely different techniques and modes of presentation. Additionally, the Arabic being spoken in this show was much more similar to what one hears in everyday conversation and on the streets; as a result, I found the play far easier to follow and was able to surmise its overall plot more readily.

The Libyan production was in truth different in nearly all aspects from Mariam and I must say I enjoyed it considerably more. In contrast to the lighting from Mariam, Khararef had an overall bright stage display that made the characters much more easy to see and readily discriminate. The music and sounds employed throughout it were provided not by live musicians, but rather from prerecorded audio that was fed through the in-house audio system at the cultural center. The acting troupe was much different also, and included a wide variety of characters who were very different from one another. In Mariam, the characters were all very similar, almost to the point that they seemed homogenous to one another, with the exception of Mariam. Khararef's characters were different not just in their physical attributes, including ages, sizes, and clothing, but also in their unique personality traits. Some were very serious and intense, while others were more comedic and did not seem to take themselves seriously at all.

It is at this point that I feel it is necessary to explain the nature of the plot of Khararef, which in my opinion is perhaps the most fascinating aspect of it in general. As I said previously, I was able to follow this play more easily on my own and speculate on what it was about. I knew that it had definite political implications because I continually heard the Arabic word for government (hukuma) being spoken, and started to suspect that it was about the Libyan revolution when I began to hear hukuma being uttered in tandem with the words kalab (dogs) and haiwanat (animals). My suspicions about it being inspired by the revolution were confirmed when I then heard an all to familiar phrase to me from my time in Yemen - al shab yureed isqat alnitham (The people want a new regime). This is a phrase that has become synonymous with the Arab Spring and is somewhat of a motto of the various youth oppositions in the Arab world.

Despite feeling confident about the play’s inspiration and overall message, I felt it was necessary to ask someone afterwards to confirm my intuition and to gain a more complete understanding of it. The man I asked appeared to be a photographer and was very knowledgeable about the play, providing me more information than I had even expected. He was from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, and spoke very good English. Not only did he confirm for me that the play was about the Libyan revolution, but also explained that the central female character in the play, who had a very key role throughout it, represented Libya. He further explained that in one scene her character was shown to give birth to the character representing Muammar Gaddafi; then at the end sher was shown snuffing out/killing Gaddafi’s character. This was meant to show that Gaddafi both came from and was extinguished by Libya (by the 'rebels' as they were denoted in the media). My Emirati friend also told me that all the actors in the production were Libyan and had been specifically picked to represent all the main geographic areas of Libya. Additionally, he mentioned that the character who acted as Gaddafi had actually fought as part of the opposition against Gaddafi in the recent fighting.

How entirely fascinating it was to see a play inspired by such recent and relevant events, especially given my current living situation. The reception this play received was very positive, and the audience was fully engaged throughout the course of its single, exciting act. There was much laughter throughout it, as I imagine many jokes were made about the character that Gaddafi was throughout his tenure as Libya’s leader. In sum, a great weekend of Arabic theatre and a fine start to my time living in Amman.

Jordan: My new home

Author's note: This is the first post on my blog after a very long absence. This absence was caused by a number of things, though primarily due to me losing my laptop compter and many other personal valuables, experiencing a whirlwind of activity in Yemen in my last few months there, traveling extensively during the summer, and a re-evaluating of life and my priorities over the last part of 2011 that necessitated an absence from online activity. This post is the start of a renewed season of writing and will be likely followed in the near future by continued posts. Enjoy!!

It is truly amazing how much one’s perspective can change in relatively short periods of time. For me, the last year and half has completely altered my life’s outlook and understanding of the world in ways that are irreversible. Just eighteen months ago (August 2010), I touched down at Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Jordan for a four hour layover during my move to Sana’a, Yemen. At that time, I knew very little about Jordan or Yemen or the Middle East in general, and spoke almost zero Arabic. To borrow the title of Robert Heinlein’s famous science fiction novel, I felt like a “Stranger in a Strange Land”, and not as comfortable as I typically find myself.

After living and being in Yemen for eleven continuous months, I then reentered Jordan for the second time, only this time staying for eight days. This second visit was during June 2011, immediately after I had been evacuated from Yemen and at the start of my summer break from teaching. At that time I felt much more comfortable and at ease in the Arabic world, and by all accounts had fallen in love with the Middle East and everything about it, including the culture, language, food, weather, and people. I knew then that I wanted to return to the Middle East to live and work, but had no leads on specific jobs. Despite feeling at ease and relaxed in Jordan, however, I could not have predicted that just over six months later, at the present time, that I would be returning to Amman, Jordan to live and work.

And yet, this is precisely the situation which I find myself currently in. I now live and work in a country which I was just a tourist in only half a year ago. How interesting it is to view Amman from my current perspective, which is one of more permanency, compared to when I was here for only a matter of days. Following my stay in Amman I spent two weeks touring around Tanzania and Kenya before I returned to the States, where I spent the first couple months visiting family and friends in South and North Dakota, and then five months living in Oregon with my twin brother. During my time in Oregon, most of my time was focused on finding new employment in the Middle East and returning myself to a more healthier state of being, two missions I am fortunate to say were accomplished. In addition to this, I also spent considerable time finding enough work in Oregon to pay the bills and just get by, something not easy to achieve in that state’s economy. The various work experiences I had there will have to be the focus of an entirely separate blog post, which, inshallah, I will get to at some point in the future

Since arriving in Amman, I have spent the majority of my time getting situated in my new apartment, which is lavishly furnished courteous of my new employer, The International Academy - Amman; getting myself familiar with my new neighborhood; taking care of various odds and ends like acquiring a phone, internet, setting up a bank account, etc.; and working on beating jet lag. As I have gone about these tasks, which are essential when settling into any new living situation, it has been interesting to see in myself how much differently I am approaching them compared to a year and a half ago in Sana’a. At that time I was so overcome by the newness of my surroundings and the countless cultural differences that I had a difficult time finding any real focus to go about my life. These feelings did not truly go away for several months and made it rather challenging to maintain focus on my work and on other things in life that are not ‘just fun.’ After less than two full days here in Amman, however, I am already feeling a sense of focus and steadfastness to the tasks at hand that I found much more difficult to achieve during my entire time in Yemen.

This change in attitude does not mean I am not without my typical adventures and happenings, as the trip here in itself had some interesting experiences worth noting. For starters, while checking in at the airport in Portland, I met a woman from Oregon who was flying to North Dakota with a final destination of New Town on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, which I called home for two years. I then had a surprise layover/connecting flight in Denver, before going to Detroit for my next connection. While in Detroit I found myself waiting nearly the entire time in the company of Arabic people, something I first experienced when I boarded my flight at Chicago O’Hare Airport on my initial flight to Yemen. At that time, I found the experience to be much different and felt much more out of place. In Detroit, however, I found myself feeling not just comfortable and relaxed, but delighted and reaffirmed that, yes, I was in fact making my return to the Middle East! In the end of the terminal I found myself waiting, I heard far more Arabic spoken than any other language, and also saw the familiar dress of the Arabic people. From the bits and pieces of Arabic being spoken, I was also able to ascertain that a number of the people I was in the company of were of Yemeni descent, something I could tell from a few nuances in the dialects being spoken. How delighted I was to be in the company of these people!!


There are two other interesting experiences I would like to share before closing this present post, both centering on people I met. The first was an employee from Lufthansa Airlines whom I approached with a question about the availability of postal services in Detroit’s airport. Despite telling me that there were no such services, he kindly offered to drop them in the mail when he left work that day, an offer I gladly accepted. As I was handing him the letters he asked me where I was headed, so I then explained to him I was moving to Amman, Jordan. His response was immediately enthusiastic, and for good reason too, as he then went on to tell me that he had lived only forty km from Amman in Palestine for several years. He went on to tell me how great he found that part of the world and suggested several sights he thought were worth seeing in the area. After visiting some more and trading travel/life experiences, he told me he was originally of Swiss descent, but that it did not really matter anymore. From what he told me, I gather that he has lived in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and now North America. Before leaving, I told him that I hoped to be like him when I reached his age, meaning that I do not want my original place of origin to define me and that I intend to continue to live internationally and in a variety of places. We parted by him giving me his business card and me promising to write upon my arrival in Amman. My completion and subsequent posting of this blog entry will complete that promise.

The last thing I would like to share is about the person I ended up sitting next to on my trans-Atlantic flight. Upon taking off from Detroit, the plane I was on first made a short one hour flight to Montreal, where the airplane both picked up some additional passengers and also refueled. During this short flight, I was not sitting next to anyone and had been looking forward to the possible extra room to stretch out for on the long haul over the Atlantic. This would not be the case, however, as I suddenly found myself sitting next to someone who had originally boarded in Detroit but who had been sitting next to his family for the first leg of the journey. After starting up some general conversation, I soon learned that my new seat-mate’s name was Mohsen and that he was traveling to Sana’a, Yemen with his father and brothers to see their mother and other family members. When I first asked Mo where he was from, he told me that he was from Detroit and the US, but he soon realized I meant where he was originally from, so he went on to explain how he was of Yemeni nationality and originally born in Yemen, but had spent most of his life in the US, some in California and some now in Detroit. He also told me that he had not seen his mother in two years and that after their two week stay in Sana’a she would be returning with he and his other family to the US to live. I also shared with Mo my recent travel experiences and explained to him the nature of my being in Yemen for a year, which included during the start and first several months of the Arab Spring there and elsewhere. It was so fascinating for he and I to share our experiences and perspectives on the world, which despite being different in many ways are actually quite similar. Perhaps the biggest differences are that Mo is a Yemeni-American currently living in the US and for all intents planning to stay there indefinitely, and that I am an American currently living in the Middle East and for all intents planning to stay here indefinitely. It is as if he and I have traded places of origin and swapped home regions to live in. It is difficult for me to communicate exactly what an experience like this feels like solely through words, but I hope that I have done it some justice in the dialogue I just provided.

As with all things in this life’s existence, this post must come to a close. I have found that in my writing that I can almost always keep going and often have difficulty knowing when to stop. However, this current post is just a beginning for a new and hopefully long string of writing from me in this corner of the world and elsewhere that I find myself in the coming months, years, and decades. I give my best to all who read this in the new year and wish you prosperity and health in 2012!! Take care and cheers!!