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MAJNOON
Hebron 2002
Caught in the ugly routine of daily violence and occupation in
Palestine, we tend to forget about the beauty of our cultural roots.
Bringing the story of Majnoon to the Palestinian stage can be seen as an
act of cultural activism, an effort to fight all that is negative in our
lives. The story of Majnoon touches one of the most basic conflicts in
our culture: that of the individual and the society that surrounds him.
For us, Qais is a boy who believes deeply in his own ideas and who
sticks to these ideas in spite of external pressures. He is called
‘mad’ because he is different.
The Poet
The
legend of the poet Qais Ibn Mulouweh (who came to be called Majnoon
(Madman)) and his love for Layla Al Amouriyya is over a thousand
years old. Both from Bedouin tribes, Qais falls in love with Layla and
speaks freely about his love for her. This is strictly forbidden and
therefore Layla is dishonored. Her father refuses the marriage.
Exhibiting his love in form of poetry, Qais creates beautiful verses
about Layla, reciting them everywhere causing further alarm and
eventually war. The poet’s pure love turns to what the people call
‘madness.’ This story is the most popular love story in the Arab and
Persian World and has been passed down through Arab culture by means of
story-telling and poetry recitation.
Written by
Jan Willems and Jackie Lubeck
(based on Majnoon Layla
by Mahmoud Aasi)
Directed by Jan Willems
The Actors
Mohammed Titi as QAIS
Ihab Zahdi as ZIAD
Raed Shiukhi as WARD & The
Beggar Woman
Marwan Tartouri as MUNAZEL, Abu Qais, & Abu Layla
&
Amer Khalil as MAROOF
All play in the CHORUS
The Team
Assistant Director - Janan Shabaneh
Design - Jackie Lubeck
Technician - Hamam Amr
Music Selection - Ihab Zahdeh
Language & Rhythm Coach - Hassan Ben Gharbia
Jerusalem Administration - Pauline Nunu
Our Story
Qais and
his four friends, Maroof, Ziad, Ward, and Munazel are and active bunch.
Maroof is interested in science while Ziad is trying to earn himself
some money. Qais is a poet. Words seem to fall from his lips in verse.
The 5 boys often come together for poetry contests and it is during one
of these contests that Qais first sees Layla. (In our play there is no
character of Layla. She is mentioned but she is never seen.) Qais
recites a poem declaring his love for Layla, enraging her family. She is
quickly married off to another man. Qais runs away only to return in the
service of a beggar woman. Although he is rescued by his friends, he
runs off again. He goes to the desert to live in nature and to recite
poetry about Layla. Layla becomes a reflection of all that is beautiful
on earth. Qais’s love becomes a reflection of all honourable tasks in
life. Only then do people become curious about him, visit him, learn
his poetry, and find inspiration in his mission of love and belief in
himself.
The Style of the Play
We use
over 20 poems in the play. The text of the play uses a combination of
spoken Arabic and classical Arabic. By working with these two types of
Arabic, we find a good balance in mixing contemporary daily life with
the old story which is told in the beauty of high classical poetry.
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