{"id":202,"date":"2019-10-20T10:42:51","date_gmt":"2019-10-20T10:42:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/?p=202"},"modified":"2022-02-05T13:28:52","modified_gmt":"2022-02-05T13:28:52","slug":"on-dramaturgy-of-care-and-encounter-in-the-theatres-of-multilingualism-interview-with-ayham-majid-agha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/on-dramaturgy-of-care-and-encounter-in-the-theatres-of-multilingualism-interview-with-ayham-majid-agha\/","title":{"rendered":"On Dramaturgy of Care and Encounter in the Theatres of Multilingualism: Interview with Ayham Majid Agha"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\"><strong>by Yana Meerzon<\/strong><a href=\"#end\" name=\"back\">*<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"abstract\"><strong>Abstract<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap abstract\">This dialogue between a Syrian theatre director, Ayham Majid Agha, who is currently residing in Berlin, and a theatre scholar, Yana Meerzon, focuses on the challenges and advantages of working in the multilingual performance context of a cosmopolitan metropolis such as Berlin. The artist discusses the notions of encounter and care as leading mechanisms of communication that such a multilingual and multicultural environment presuppose.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br><strong>Keywords:<\/strong> Exil Ensemble, Maxim Gorki Theatre, Heiner M\u00fcller<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ayham\nMajid Agha is a Syrian theatre maker currently living in Berlin. He was trained\nas an actor at the Academy of Performing Arts in Damascus. After a successful\ncareer at home, including his work as a member of Theatre Studio and as a teacher,\nAyham left Syria. He has been affiliated with Maxim Gorki Theatre since 2016,\nwhen he participated in their iconic production about Middle Eastern politics\nand migration, <em>The Situation<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A\nmember of the Exil Ensemble, also hosted by Maxim Gorki Theatre, Ayham participated\nin developing and producing the 2016 <em>Winterreise<\/em>&nbsp;(<em>Winter\nJourney<\/em>) \u0631\u062d\u0644\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0634\u062a\u0627\u0621<em> , <\/em>together\nwith Yael Ronen. His play <em>Skelett eines Elefanten in der W\u00fcste<\/em>\npremiered in the 2017\/18 season at the Studio \u042f of Maxim Gorki Theatre. In\n2018, Ayham took part in the staging of <em>Die<\/em>\n<em>Hamletmaschine,<\/em> based on Heiner M\u00fcller\u2019s masterpiece. To this work, directed by Sebastian N\u00fcbling, Ayham contributed both as a\nwriter and as an actor. The present dialogue took place in Berlin on June 20, 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"video\"><strong>Video<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Die Hamletmaschine (Trailer) | Maxim Gorki Theater\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5XXcIQIgLYY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption> Exil Ensemble, Maxim Gorki Theatre <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><strong>What was your journey to the West, Ayham? And what is your experience\nwith multilingualism? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As\na theatre artist<strong>, <\/strong>I have been\ntraveling to the West since 2007. But after 2011, my life changed drastically. I\nleft Syria because of the war and now my family, my wife Olga Grjasnowa, an immigrant writer, and my two\nchildren, live here in Berlin. My family is already a multilingual \u201ctheatre.\u201d At\nhome, we speak four languages: Arabic, German, Russian and English. I am lucky\nthat way, I escaped. But when it comes to my relationships with the past, it is\nvery complicated. I cannot remember how my city looks. I can only imagine it,\nas there is nothing left to see. So, even if I wanted to go back, there is\nnothing for me. I have only fragments of memory, short sentences and flickering\nimages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><strong>I can relate to this experience too, Ayham. Of\ncourse, my native city of Moscow was not destroyed, but time has changed it so\nunrecognizably that I also feel there is nothing for me to return to. I think\ntheatre and creative work can become these places of refuge and memory.&nbsp; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Exil\nEnsemble started like that. The name and the idea come from Brecht, his work in\nSwitzerland, when he was in exile. Brecht\u2019s theatre was political, and we knew\nours was to be political too. We imagined it as a space for exilic professional\ntheatre makers to work together. For us, exile defines both the artist-migrants\nwho had to move into another country and those who found themselves in internal\nexile in their own countries, like the Russian director,<strong> <\/strong>Kirill&nbsp;Serebrennikov, who is now under house\narrest and cannot practice theatre.<a href=\"#end1\" name=\"back1\"><sup>[1]<\/sup><\/a> As a theatre artist who has escaped to safety and is free now, I feel a responsibility\nto others to create an opportunity for them to work professionally again, to continue\nto better their skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><strong>How do you\ndefine the term post-migrant theatre? And at what moment does one become a\npost-migrant? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\ndon\u2019t like this term and I don\u2019t believe in it. I am a refugee from Syria who\nlives in Germany. I will never become \u201ca German\u201d in my entire life. But Maxim Gorki\nTheatre works under this title, as it is a company dedicated to presenting the\nwork of migrant artists. Before, it was very difficult to find a venue like\nthat, to work in many languages. We could only act in German. But if you are a\nprofessional artist, you should be treated like that, not like an immigrant or\na refugee who wants to tell their story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><strong>Your opinion resonates with many artists in exile\nthat I have talked to, both in Europe and in Canada. Many of them think of the rehearsal\nhall or the dance studio as their only home country, a place where they belong.\nTheatre<\/strong><strong>\u2014or rather doing theatre professionally\u2014becomes this metaphor for home that can be\ntransported from place to place and be rebuilt again and again in a new language\nor culture. This idea, however, does not sit well with funding or other\nbureaucratic institutions.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nproblem is the bureaucratic language that we need to use when it comes to grant\napplications. Very often, the funds are made available because the work focuses\non migration and promises to bring real refugees on stage, not because they are\nprofessionally trained artists. I don\u2019t think it is a good idea. As theatre artists,\nwe\u2019re not really trained to help people to deal with their trauma; they need\nprofessional help that they are often denied, so, suddenly, theatre becomes\nthis place for psychological recuperation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The other problem is that if we don\u2019t support professional artists in exile, in many countries, like Syria, the skill of theatre-making will be lost. We have already lost many artists and art works because of the war; now, in exile, we continue destroying these artistic traditions, because we don\u2019t provide them with enough support. This is the responsibility of the state\u2014to support the exilic artists who already have skills in making art and who should continue developing them. That is why Exil Ensemble was imagined as a special platform for professional artists who are migrants to do their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our\nfirst project was <em>Winterreise<\/em>\u2014a\ncollectively devised road play. The company took a trip through ten German\ncities and Zurich to visit the archive of Brecht\u2019s Exil Ensemble. After that,\nwe staged my play <em>Skelett eines Elefanten in der W\u00fcste<\/em>&nbsp;and a set of\nimprovisations based on <em>Alice in Wonderland<\/em>. In February 2018, we\nproduced <em>Die&nbsp;Hamletmaschine<\/em>\n(with Maryam Abu Khaled, Mazen Aljubbeh, Hussein Al Shateli, Karim Daoud,\nTahera Hashemi and Kenda Hmeidan) and, in April 2018, Kharm\u2019s <em>Elizaveta Bam<\/em>.&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><strong>What is the unifying artistic idea that defines these\nprojects? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\nis always about negotiating past and present. We know and always remember that\nwe are coming from a different place. In Heiner M\u00fcller\u2019s short\nsentences, there is the knowledge of many generations and literatures; his play\npresents the soul of the German people in 1977, one of its darker periods. M\u00fcller\nasks an important question of how to be an intellectual in his time. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><strong>In the play, you speak as Hamlet and call yourself\n\u201cthe third clown of the Arab Spring\u201d: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>I am the third clown of the Arab Spring. \/ Surviving does not mean living. My friends and I, we died eight times, yet we survived. \/ At the same time, the old dictator lived the last eight years of this life despite actually being dead. Dying is the edge of death. \/ We dug for the dead, we buried them and bade them farewell. But we survivors died without having been given the calm of a grave. The dead beneath the earth belong to the future because only those who rest in a grave will be reborn. We, however, live as the unburied dead without a future and without a past. Give us our weapons, our daily war and our chests full of bullets. Amen.<\/p><cite>  (Agha 16) <\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><strong>How did you arrive at these images?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This was inspired by M\u00fcller. The first clown is Shakespeare\u2019s fool, the second is M\u00fcller\u2019s, as his text is full of quotations from Shakespeare and other classical texts, the third clown is me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><strong>I find this connection very fruitful. You did not\nadapt or rewrite M\u00fcller\u2019s text; you attempted to put a layer of new historical\nreality onto the existing canvas. This gesture made this production\nmulti-dimensional and very urgent.&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And this is my point. As an artist, whether a refugee or a migrant, I feel a responsibility to be in dialogue with the great minds of world literature, not to fall into the traps of identity theatre. For Exil Ensemble, it has always been my goal to produce the repertoire. So, if I want to tell my own story, I will use the work of Brecht, M\u00fcller or Turgenev. I will use M\u00fcller\u2019s text to talk about women\u2019s fate during the war, about my aunt, who was a twin to my father and who died because she was a woman and she could not escape. Now, I am adapting the Gilgamesh myth, as politics and history are deeply intertwined, they come together, hand in hand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><strong>Berlin is of course a city where you feel this\nsense of historical urgency<\/strong><strong>\u2014<\/strong><strong>there is the Jewish history,\nthe Berlin Wall history, the history of a current refugee crisis<\/strong><strong> <\/strong><strong>\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And yet,<strong> <\/strong>theatre producers often refuse to notice it. They talk about the expectations of the audience, their need for entertainment. To me, this is a form of artistic cheating\u2014to give the audience what they expect. Theatre must surprise and provoke, not give people what they already know<strong>. <\/strong>In Berlin, there are cemeteries from many wars, way before today\u2019s migration. These are the sites of interrupted lives that I dig into. Politicians and funding will change; human nature will not, and so artists must work on universal themes. Working on M\u00fcller\u2019s material was ideal for me\u2014I was very cautious and grateful for this opportunity to dialogue with his text. I could only offer a historical frame to bring this icon closer to our own time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><strong>I call this approach \u201cdramaturgy of encounter\u201d; when you place different texts in different languages next to each other and make audiences seek the connections between them. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The dramaturg Ludwig Haugk was very helpful in this process. He had the courage to accept the challenge of shaking M\u00fcller\u2019s text from within. In our text, there is M\u00fcller\u2019s German,Ophelia speaks in Farsi, and when we improvise, we speak English. My inserts are in Arabic; I call them \u201cAyHamlet.\u201d It is my personal call to Heiner M\u00fcller, and it must be done in my mother tongue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><strong>And\nthen the entire show is surtitled in English. What is this gesture? Catering to\ntourists?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This\nis a gesture of hospitality, our desire to communicate with others. Most of the\naudience in Berlin doesn\u2019t speak German; it is a phenomenon of a city in which\nthree million people speak international English. Members of the Exil Ensemble are\neither migrants or international workers, so they need help in translation too.\nBut I prefer to speak Arabic on stage.&nbsp;<strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><strong>So,\nsuch multilingualism becomes a signifier of today\u2019s history, when moving from\nplace to place and speaking many languages can estrange people but can also\ngive them a false sense of equality.&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Equality\nis a difficult idea. As a Syrian actor I should speak in Arabic to feel equal,\nbut my audience is here, so I must switch into German. I also speak English and\nbelieve in the diversity of identities and languages, as my own identity is\nmultiplied. My family is from Dagestan, but they moved to Armenia, then to\nSyria and now I\u2019m in Berlin, and all this because of ethnic wars and religious\nconflicts. Politicians use words to make people accomplices in the genocides\nthey create; they make us bystanders to injustice. We approve violence by\nsimply not protesting it. As an artist, I cannot keep silent and I must speak\nagainst this violence, but I also want to use great works of the past, like\nHeiner M\u00fcller\u2019s, to address today\u2019s issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><strong>This\nbrings me back to the question of language: is theatrical multilingualism\nalready a political statement?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\ngrew up in an area where people spoke many languages: Kurdish, Armenian,\nArabic, Turkish and many others. I am used to that, and I speak three dead\nlanguages. For me, multilingualism is not political. I publish in German now,\nbut my Arabic is broken, as I\u2019m writing for translators, constructing my Arabic\nsentences to help those translating them into German or English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><strong>Does\nthis mean that you imagine how your sentences might sound in another language\nwhile writing in Arabic? Is this a form of self-censorship?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not\nreally, because language comes with the context. If you\u2019re writing about cold\nweather, your reader can only imagine what he or she knows about it, so you\nneed to be careful about what words and adjectives you use. When I write my\ntexts in Arabic and know that they will be translated into German or English, I\nmake my sentences shorter. In theatre, when we use surtitles, they become a\nseparate character that you need to think about from the very beginning. Actors\nused to pay no attention to the surtitles, but, for me, translation is not an\nadded feature of the show; it is a character. As a writer, I must think of the audience,\nwho should be able to follow the text. But reading cannot take longer than\nacting, because the actor\u2019s work is as important as the text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><strong>In\n<em>Die<\/em> <em>Hamletmaschine<\/em>,\nthis was very clear: German and Arabic texts were projected on the transparent\nscreen centre stage and the English surtitles appeared on the sides. We had no\ntroubles following the action.&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Translation\nis our way of taking care of the audience, of showing them that, in our violent\nworld, there can be a space of safety. In theatre, translation creates this\nspace of safety; it invites the audience into the action, it allows dialogue to\ntake place. So, if I know that we will use surtitles, I will create a dialogue\nbetween them and the actors. I would also place surtitles centre stage to give the\naudience a chance to read the text and to follow the action at the same time.\nSometimes, we add movement: the text and the action overlap and create\nconflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><strong>I\nnoticed this. As you were reciting your monologue in Arabic, you kept still and\nspoke slowly. This gave me a chance to read the surtitles and follow your\nactions. But, often, people don\u2019t think this way, so the audience is forced to\nchoose between watching the actors and reading. This creates a strange sense of\ndisconnection. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This\nis the primary challenge of working in a multilingual context. We need to be\nmore patient. We need to remember that the audience does not speak all our\nlanguages, and hence we should adapt to their pace, be more hospitable toward\nthem. When they get used to watching a play with surtitles, when they become\nmore familiar with this foreign language, we can start to speak more quickly.\nBut when it comes as a surprise that the actor speaks Arabic, we need to wait\nfor audience to adjust. We need to be more tolerant.&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><strong>Should we say that multilingualism\ndemands new methods of acting?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not\nnew methods but new work on rhythm. We use multitasking on a daily basis. It has\nprepared us for dealing with theatre surtitles, so we adapt for this new rhythm\nof reception very quickly. Ludwig Haug was very conscious of this. He introduced\nthe cuts and worked on the montage of language sequences, asking how these\nchanges and juxtapositions would influence the levels of reception. For me, as\na writer, it was very important through these cuts and changes to find the two\nhistories of the text: one of Heiner M\u00fcller and one of our time. We used M\u00fcller\u2019s\nwords, such as \u201crevolution\u201d or \u201cguns,\u201d and phrases like \u201ca cocaine on her lips\u201d\nto speak about our reality. In the original, these phrases were abstract\nimages; today, they have become very concrete. &nbsp;<strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><strong>The\nplay begins with an image of Europe in ruins<\/strong><strong>;<\/strong><strong> <\/strong><strong>the image that invites a politically urgent\ninterpretation and speaks to the uncertainty of today, the way Europe is trying\nto re-imagine itself as a culture of hospitality but also of genocides. Your\nown history, as someone who witnessed destruction firsthand, makes <em>Die<\/em> <em>Hamletmaschine<\/em>\nvery concrete. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The original <em>DieHamletmaschine <\/em>was informed by M\u00fcller\u2019s own biography; so, when I am working with this material, I feel a need to bring myself into it. This way the play remains open for interpretations, for other perspectives. &nbsp;I see my work as co-writing, creating a dialogue with the past. Because of my family name, accent and looks, and the languages I speak, I am often invited to play Syrian or Arabic refugees; or prepare cultural parties with authentic food and music. It has become a clich\u00e9, exploiting a stereotype. I\u2019m very grateful for the safety that Germany has given me, but I cannot assume the role of a victim. To expect me to speak only as a Syrian refugee is another form of colonialism. When I talk about myself, I talk as someone tightly connected to the history of my people and my land. For that, I need the text of Heiner M\u00fcller<em><strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ayham speaks in\nArabic, while German and English translations are projected on stage: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Dear Ophelia,<br><br>At noon on the 3rd of February, my drama took place in Damascus in front of the houses of parliament. I stood alone on the square like a spot of light searching for the demonstration that had been announced.<br><br>A security official, in a suit as dark as the night, instructed me to go to the car park and to sit in the red car, the car with its doors open.<br><br>In that car, I confessed everything they wanted to hear. I reported of \u201ccomputers\u201d, of \u201csecret locations\u201d and of \u201cforeign secret services\u201d. I performed the show they wanted to see.<br><br>My drama took place before the first bullet was shot at demonstrators, before the masses were stood at the windows of their homes and followed a war on their screens, as if it were far away.<br><br>Berlin is a harbour city on a sea of blood that reaches as far as Damascus. I have begun digging a hole on Alexanderplatz. Perhaps it will be a grave, perhaps a tunnel under the sea.<br><br>As long as this machine belongs to him, your Hamlet.<\/p><cite>(Agha 19)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"endnote\"><strong>Endnote<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p><a name=\"end1\" href=\"#back1\"><sup>[1]<\/sup><\/a> On April\n8, 2019, a Moscow city court ended Serebrennikov\u2019s house arrest that began in\nAugust 2017. At the moment, Serebrennikov\nis allowed to work in his theatre as long as he stays in Moscow. (Agence France-Presse)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"bibliography\"><strong>Bibliography<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">Agence France-Presse. \u201c<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Renowned Russian Director Serebrennikov Freed from House Arrest (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2019\/apr\/08\/russian-director-kirill-serebrennikov-freed-from-house-arrest.\" target=\"_blank\">Renowned Russian Director Serebrennikov Freed from House Arrest<\/a>.\u201d <em>The Guardian<\/em>, 8 Apr. 2019. Accessed 13 May 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">Agha, Ayham Majid. <em>Die<\/em> <em>Hamletmaschine<\/em>, 2018. Unpublished\nmanuscript.<a name=\"end\">&nbsp;<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" data-attachment-id=\"205\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/on-dramaturgy-of-care-and-encounter-in-the-theatres-of-multilingualism-interview-with-ayham-majid-agha\/meerzon\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/Meerzon.jpeg\" data-orig-size=\"250,209\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;9&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS REBEL T3i&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1487331712&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;55&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Meerzon\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/Meerzon.jpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/Meerzon-150x150.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-205 alignnone\"><br>&nbsp;\n\n\n\n<p><a name=\"end\" href=\"#back\">*<\/a><strong>Yana Meerzon<\/strong> is Professor at the University of Ottawa. She has published on theatre of exile and migration, cultural and interdisciplinary studies. Her books include <em>A Path of the Character: Michael Chekhov&#8217;s Inspired Acting and Theatre Semiotics<\/em> (2005) and <em>Performing Exile \u2013 Performing Self: Drama, Theatre, Film<\/em> (Palgrave 2012). She has also co-edited several book collections and special issues of journals on these topics. As of this issue of <em>Critical Stages<\/em>, Yana is the editor of the journal\u2019s \u201cEssay Section\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\">www.critical-stages.org<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">Copyright <strong>\u00a9<\/strong> 2019 Yana Meerzon<br><em>Critical Stages\/Sc\u00e8nes critiques<\/em> e-ISSN: 2409-7411<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/88x31.png\" alt=\"Creative Commons Attribution International License\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">This work is licensed under the<br>Creative Commons Attribution International License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":303,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[11],"class_list":["post-202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-essays","tag-essay-front"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/Ayham-Majid-Agha-featured.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":362,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/introductory-words\/","url_meta":{"origin":202,"position":0},"title":"Introductory Words","author":"Yana Meerzon","date":"November 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Yana Meerzon* Dear reader, I am happy to present the December 2019 \u201cESSAY SECTION\u201d (# 20) of the journal Critical Stages\/Sc\u00e8nes critiques. This section is dedicated to urgent issues related to theater and performance making, ways of thinking and writing about theatre and performing arts, ways of viewing and reflecting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Essays&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Essays","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/category\/essays\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/Meerzon.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":240,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/seeking-the-other-staging-the-paroxysms-of-orientalism-i\/","url_meta":{"origin":202,"position":1},"title":"Seeking the Other:  Staging the Paroxysms of Orientalism","author":"Yana Meerzon","date":"October 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0Yana Meerzon* Abstract In this hybrid (essay\/interview) article, Yana Meerzon analyzes the production Mahmoud & Niny, directed by Henri Jules Julien and presented at the Avignon Festival, July 14-22, 2019. Developed through a series of conversations and workshops with its major participants, Mahmoud El Haddad and\u00a0Virginie Gabriel, this performance provides\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Essays&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Essays","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/category\/essays\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/image5-7.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/image5-7.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/image5-7.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/image5-7.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":534,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/theatre-at-the-crossroads-trends-and-challenges-of-georgian-theatre-today\/","url_meta":{"origin":202,"position":2},"title":"Theatre at the Crossroads:  Trends and Challenges of Georgian Theatre Today","author":"Yana Meerzon","date":"December 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Natalia Tvaltchrelidze* Abstract The paper overviews recent tendencies in the theatre life in Georgia. In particular, it presents the latest statistical data and audience research on theatre; it discusses theatre festival life in Georgia and the latest trends in the productions of young directors in the country.Keywords: Georgia, theatre, festivals,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;National Reports&quot;","block_context":{"text":"National Reports","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/category\/national-reports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/12\/image5-3.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/12\/image5-3.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/12\/image5-3.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/12\/image5-3.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":127,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/german-theatre-interventions-and-transformations\/","url_meta":{"origin":202,"position":3},"title":"German Theatre:  Interventions and Transformations","author":"Yana Meerzon","date":"December 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Azadeh Sharifi* The Epicentre and Its Eruption Abstract The past years have brought eruptive changes and transformation to the German theatre scene. Recent waves of migration, the #metoo movement and the political climate of the rise of far-right-parties have demanded serious action that were accompanied by protests and interventions. In\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;National Reports&quot;","block_context":{"text":"National Reports","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/category\/national-reports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/image2-4.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/image2-4.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/image2-4.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":756,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/a-note-from-the-guest-editors\/","url_meta":{"origin":202,"position":4},"title":"A Note from the Guest Editors","author":"Yana Meerzon","date":"December 4, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Manabu Noda* and Yun Cheol Kim** The world is ageing\u2212and fast. According to the United Nations, already one in eleven of the world population is over 65, and by 2050 the rate will be one in six. The 65+ age band outnumbered children under five years of age for the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Special Topic&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Special Topic","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/category\/special-topic\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/Manabu_Noda2-140x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":574,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/all-puppets-large-and-small-in-quebec-and-the-czech-republic\/","url_meta":{"origin":202,"position":5},"title":"All Puppets, Large and Small\u2014in Qu\u00e9bec and the Czech Republic","author":"Yana Meerzon","date":"December 8, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Mark Brown* FIAMS, Saguenay, Qu\u00e9bec, Canada, 23\u201328 July, 2019.One Flew Over the Puppeteer\u2019s Nest Festival, Prague, Czech Republic, 31 October to 3 November 2019. As was excellently attested in the Special Topic of the previous (19th) edition of Critical Stages, the art of puppetry is ancient, diverse and global. However,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Performance Reviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Performance Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/category\/performance-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/12\/Photo-3-PER-puppetmark-Fig-3.-Smallest-of-the-Sami.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/12\/Photo-3-PER-puppetmark-Fig-3.-Smallest-of-the-Sami.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/12\/Photo-3-PER-puppetmark-Fig-3.-Smallest-of-the-Sami.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/12\/Photo-3-PER-puppetmark-Fig-3.-Smallest-of-the-Sami.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1191,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202\/revisions\/1191"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}