Damascus, Oct. 2 (SANA) A new stage production in Damascus is taking audiences through decades of Syrian theater and television, combining acting, music, song and dance in eight scenes inspired by well-known works.
“Nostalgia: Memories of Syrian Art,” staged at the recently renovated al-Hamra Theater, draws on productions and television themes spanning from the 1980s to the present.
Directed by Ghazwan Qahwaji, the operetta brings together actors, an orchestra, a choir and a dance troupe. Wiam Ismail handled the theatrical adaptation, Ihab al-Qutaysh conducted the orchestra, Mikhail Tadros trained the choir and Mohammad Halabi designed the choreography.
Directed by Ghazwan Qahwaji, the operetta brings together actors, an orchestra, a choir and a dance troupe. Wiam Ismail handled the theatrical adaptation, Ihab al-Qutaysh conducted the orchestra, Mikhail Tadros trained the choir and Mohammad Halabi designed the choreography.
Eight scenes spanning decades
The production opens with “An Evening with Abu Khalil al-Qabbani” and the song “This Is Damascus,” before moving through scenes drawn from different periods of Syrian performing arts.
They include “The Patient,” paired with the theme from “Ayyam Shamiyeh”; “Saqr Quraish,” accompanied by the “Hammam al-Qishani” theme; and “The Investigation,” featuring music from “A Five-Star Family.”
Later scenes draw on “Ghorba,” “Rituals of Signs and Transformations” and “Outside the Flock,” paired respectively with themes from “Diaries of a General Manager,” “Born from the Flank” and “The Palestinian Alienation.”
The performance closes with “The Poem” and the theme from “Migration of Hearts to Hearts.”
Orchestra conductor al-Qutaysh told SANA that preparations took three to four months, including selecting and rearranging the music to fit the available instruments and the theater’s stage.
The dance troupe and choir rehearsed separately before joining the other performers for two weeks of combined rehearsals, he said.
Nawar Boulboul, director of Syria’s Directorate of Theaters and Music, opened the production and said the rehabilitation of al-Hamra was intended to restore the venue’s place in the country’s cultural and artistic scene.
Al-Hamra Theater resumed performances in September after extensive renovation. Its reopening program included music, dance and a documentary on the rehabilitation of the venue.
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