Iraqi Theatre Reappears

This is an article from 'Variety' by Bryan Pearson published January 7, 2009

BAGHDAD -- With security improving throughout Iraq, once-ubiquitous theater groups are starting to reappear. The National Theater led the way in October when it staged a series of evening performances for the first time since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003. The National Theater led the way in October when it staged a series of evening performances for the first time since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.

Playwright Ali Hussein's biting satire "Bring the King, Bring Him," marked the Eid al-Fitr holiday -- one of the most important on the Muslim calendar. Because violence is still a real and present danger in the Iraqi capital, theatergoers were forced to make their way to the perfs on foot, and police closed off roads near the venue.

Security was as tight for a series of performances of yet another satire (Dec. 21-23) in the western city of Kut, capital of Wasit province, which was handed back to Iraqi security control by U.S. forces in late October.

But as a measure of the improvement in security in Kut, which until March was under the control of Shiite militiamen, some 500 people turned out for each of the three performances of the play, dubbed "Mud House" because the actors are from an Iraqi sitcom of the same name.
With local elections set for the end of January, the importance of voting was as much a focus of the play as the effects of administrative corruption -- always a favorite theme with Iraqi audiences.

"Using a play as a way to educate people helps to get important messages out to the audience through comedy, and the popularity of 'Mud House' definitely gets people out to see the show," said U.S. military official Staff Sgt. Melissa Powell, who helped organize the event.

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Iraq: War in the Streets, War in the Wings

Wonderful article about the Iraqi National Theatre's first production to be performed after sunset since the 2003 US-led invasion. Click here for the the full LA Times article.

"Bring the King, Bring Him" opened a few days ago, hours after a car bomb shook the National Theater, crumpling the dressing room ceiling and bruising Zahra Beden, Munathar's wife, and another actress in the play. Munathar, who also stars as the king, worried that the attack would keep audiences away. But the crowds keep coming, braving the city's frequent explosions and horizon of curling smoke.

Iraqi Artists Flee

Iraqi singers, actors and artists are fleeing the country after dozens have been killed by Islamic radicals determined to eradicate all culture associated with the West. Cinemas, art galleries, theatres, and concert halls are being destroyed in grenade and mortar attacks in Basra and Baghdad.

According to the Iraqi Artists' Association, at least 115 singers and 65 actors have been killed since the US-led invasion, as well as 60 painters. But the terror campaign has escalated in recent months as both Shia and Sunni extremists grow ever bolder in enforcing religious restrictions on the citizens of Iraq. Those remaining are in hiding as they make preparations to get themselves and their families to safety.

Haydar Labbeb, 35, a painter in Baghdad, said he had received five death threats and an attempt was made on his life as he drove his family home from a wedding. He is now trying to get to Amman in Jordan, where he hopes to continue painting.

'My art is seen by extremists as too modern and offensive to Islamic beliefs,' he said. 'For them, every painting has to be based on Islamic culture. But I am a modern artist. Life for artists in Iraq has turned into hell. We have been forced to stay in our homes and to stop working. I don't remember the last time I saw an exhibition, or a singer at a club, or an actor at a local theatre. All of us have been prohibited from working as a result of the killings.'

The Iraqi Ministry of Culture estimates that about 80 per cent of singers and other artists have now fled. In November Seif Yehia, 23, was beheaded for singing western songs at weddings, and painter Ibraheem Sadoon was shot dead as he drove through Baghdad. In February Sunni fighters killed Waleed Dahi, 27, a young actor, while he rehearsed for a play due to open at the Jordanian National Theatre this month.

Culture was encouraged during Saddam's regime, but no longer. Abu Nur, an Islamic Army spokesman, said: 'Acting, theatre and television encourage bad behaviour and irreligious attitudes. They promote customs that affect the morality of our traditional society.'