Tripoli, 23 August 2013:
The play An Enemy of the . . .[restrict]People by Henrik Ibsen is to be staged in Arabic at the Kashaf Theatre in downtown Tripoli from 4 – 7 September. It is being performed by La Musica Independent Theatre from Egypt and hosted by Arete Foundation of Arts and Culture.
It will be the first time that the Norwegian playwright’s work has been performed in Libya.
Directed by Nora Amin and translated by Randa Hakim, An Enemy of the People (written in 1882) takes place in a small town and presents the methods used by powerful politicians and special interests in directing public opinion to serve their struggles for power and wealth, while sacrificing the public’s interest and turning genuine heroes into villains and scapegoats.
“We are really happy to host this exciting and artistically innovative production of Ibsen’s play,” said Khaled Mattawa, President of the Arete Foundation. An Enemy of the People is a dramatic masterpiece that has entertained viewers across the world while raising urgent questions about the role of the individual in periods of social transformation. The play addresses the importance of engagement even in the most adverse periods. This play, I believe, will help enrich our dialogue as we reflect on the future of our revolution in Libya, which is now struggling between hope and despair.”
Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) and is known as the father of modern theatre. He wrote 26 plays and is one of the world’s best known playwrights after Shakespeare. Literary historians point out that this play represents a quantum leap in Ibsen’s realistic approach.
La Musica’s production of An Enemy of the People has received several awards at National Theatre Festival in Egypt this year. Director Nora Amin won the award for Best Dramaturge, Tariq Douiri won the award for Best Male Leading Actor and Imad El-Raheb won the award for the Best Supporting Actor. The play has been performed Cairo and Alexandria and several other places in Egypt, and will also be performed in Norway and Sweden later this month.
The Arete Foundation for Arts and Culture is a Libyan arts organisation that seeks to promote and support artistic creativity and cultural exchange inside Libya and with its neighbouring countries.
For further information about the play and the Arete Foundation for Culture and Arts, contact [email protected] or phone 091 3761702. [/restrict]
