Dramatizing Resistance: Saadallah Wannous and the State of Contemporary Arab Theatre was a panel discussion held on March 10, 2014 at Silk Road Rising that explored the legacy of the late great Syrian playwright Saadallah Wannous. Topics covered included Wannous' influence on theatre being created in the Arab world today, the reality of government censorship, and the relationship between theatre and social and political change.
This panel discussion grew out of a partnership between Silk Road Rising, the American University of Beirut, and the Lebanese American University that fostered the translation of Saadallah Wannous' play Rituals of Signs and Transformations from Arabic to English.
The partnership and translation was made possible by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Silk Road Rising produced three staged readings of Rituals of Signs and Transformations, translated by Robert Myers and Nada Saab and directed by Sahar Assaf, on March 8 and 9, 2014.
Panelists for Dramatizing Resistance: Saadallah Wannous and the State of Contemporary Arab Theatre included:
Sahar Assaf, American University of Beirut
Riad Ismat, Northwestern University
Nabeel Khoury, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Robert Myers, American University of Beirut
Nada Saab, Lebanese American University
The panel was moderated by Silk Road Rising's Founding Artistic Director Jamil Khoury.
