Reviews 2005
Reviews 2005
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by Tawfiq al-Hakim, translated and adapted by Ronald Weihs and Emad Nafeh, directed by Ronald Weihs
AfriCan Theatre Ensemble, Artword Theatre, Toronto
April 1-17, 2005
If the concept “Egyptian comedy” is foreign to you, head down to the Artword Theatre, where the AfriCan Theatre Ensemble is presenting the Canadian premiere of Fate of a Cockroach, a 1966 play by Tawfiq al-Hakim (1898-1987), often called the father of Arabic literary drama. It’s an absurdist play, much like Ionesco, that satirizes self-important officials, pundits of both science and religion and men’s supposed natural dominance over women. Al-Hakim contrasts egocentric cockroaches and humans with socialist ants to suggest that only those who can cooperate will thrive.
Act I is set in the Kingdom of the Cockroaches where the self-appointed King (Kurt Spenrath) and his ministers dither but do nothing about their continued failure against the ants. In Act II we meet humans Adil (Tony Adah) and Samia (Pasha Mckenley) whose morning battle over the bathroom reaches an impasse when they spy a cockroach struggling in the bathtub. The performances are less than polished, but Shannon Kitchings as the cockroach Queen and Mckenley are comic stand-outs. Thomas Baker’s live music, Muoi Nene’s live sound effects and John Williams’s and director Ronald Weihs’s projected digital animation brilliantly enhance the cartoonish humour of the action.
©Christopher Hoile
Note: A version of this review appeared in Eye Weekly 2005-04-07.
Photo: Tony Adah, Kurt Spenrath and Pasha Mckenley. ©David Hawe.
2005-04-07
The Fate of a Cockroach