August 03, 2006

A Syrian ambassador who has produced Shakespeare’s plays, talks about the popularity of the Bard in the Arab world, reports Rizwana Naqvi

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see
So long lives this, and this gives live to thee

Shakespeare had predicted that his works would be remembered till eternity, and how right he was. Very few writers enjoy the popularity that Shakespeare, often referred to as the Bard, does. His works are universal and cannot be confined to any particular age or region.

This fact was brought up at a talk held recently at the Greenwich University on ‘Shakespeare and the Arabs: a Syrian encounter’. The chief guest, Riad Ismat, Syrian ambassador to Pakistan, gave a very interesting account of his experiences of directing and producing Shakespeare’s plays. The diplomat has authored 25 books, along with directing and producing 15 plays and TV serials in Arabic.

Ismat has not only directed Shakespeare’s plays but has also adapted them to suit his audience; for instance, he produced Hamlet set in the Arabian background with characters dressed in Arab-style robes and vazirs replacing ministers; The Winters Tale was produced using modern devices such as bicycles and torch lights to give it a modern and realistic touch.

The idea behind these innovations was to demystify Shakespeare as there has always been an aura of sophistication around him. A lay person might feel intimidated by Shakespeare’s written work, but Shakespeare was a theatre person and an actor himself and thus he created his characters.

For Ismat, many of Shakespeare’s plays are set in the Arabian background and have Arab characters; the most important being Othello. Merchant of Venice reminded him of Arabian Nights because of its reference to Shylock.

According to him, “Syrians have not had much interaction with Shakespeare as only a few of his plays have been produced there.” In 1973, he directed Hamlet but since it is a very long play he had to cut down its length and highlight the political aspect, as at that time Syria was fighting to liberate its land from Israel.

Ismat stated that he has learned a lot from Shakespeare and one of the lessons was that great writers do not portray their characters in black and white; they leave many grey areas to portray their human side. Many of Shakespeare’s plays have made use of the device of disguise which is an important tool to justify the actions of villains. Rafat Karim, the Dean of the English department at the university as well as President Shakespeare Association Pakistan, while thanking the ambassador disclosed that the second International Shakespeare conference will be held in Karachi next summer.

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