Reviewed by:

• The Theatre of Sa’dallah Wannous: A Critical Study of the Syrian Playwright and Public Intellectual ed. by Sonja Mejcher-Atassi and Robert Myers
• Samar Zahrawi (bio)

The Theatre of Sa’dallah Wannous is the first book in the English language to paint a well-rounded picture of the dramatic art, intellectual background, and theatrical impact of the most significant modern Arab dramatist, Sa’dallah Wannous (1941–97). Generally speaking, the book first situates Wannous within Syrian, Arab, and world contexts and analyzes Wannous’ use of Brechtian techniques to induce critical thinking and promote social and political change. Second, it provides a reading into the thematic content of Wannous’ drama caused by his frustration with the multiple political failures of his time. Third, it delves into the directors’ theatrical experience while staging Wannous’s plays. Fourth, it profiles Wannous the intellectual, the man, and the father through surveying his library and recording memoirs about him by two of his close friends and daughter.

Editors Sonja Mejcher-Atassi and Robert Myers have adeptly brought together the work of multidisciplinary experts, including literary scholars, directors, creative writers, and close acquaintances. The resulting volume will appeal to scholars in the field of theatre, literature, culture, and the relation of authority to social change. It will also be of value to anyone interested in contemporary Syria and the Arab world. The book is unique in critiquing Wannous’ theatre and thought and tracing the organic connection between political, social, historical, and personal factors that contributed to Wannous’s creativity. It studies the role of Wannous’s theatre in envisioning and impacting culture during postcolonial and contemporary Syria and adjacent countries. It also registers changes in societies and measures the extent to which theatre and literature still matter today

Locating the work of Wannous within the theatrical movement in the Arab world and world theatre, this book allows readers to define the disciplines and modes of thought in a new way. It identifies the post-colonial struggle with authoritarianism and the political events that influenced Wannous such as the partition of Palestinian Land upon the creation of the State of Israel (Nakba), the loss of more land to Israel due to the war of June 5^th 1967 (Naksa), the Camp David Accords (Egypt and Israel peace treaty in 1978), and the continuous struggle for peace and political equity.

In “Part 1 - Situating Wannous,” Marvin Carlson surveys the history of the Arabic world since the Arabic renaissance (Nahda) in Cairo, Damascus, and Beirut, starting with Marun al-Naqqash and Abu-Khalil al-Qabbani and moving up to Wannous’s time. Carlson studies the influence of European [End Page 336] theatre practitioners on Wannous and his inclination to favor Brecht’s methods over Ionesco’s, at the same time drawing from folkloric tradition to develop a genuinely Arab theatre. He also considers Wannous as a major author not just in the modern Arab world but in the theatre repertoire around the world. Robert Myers and Nada Saab study, in more detail, the influence of Bertolt Brecht and other Brechtian practitioners on Wannous, as well as Wannous’ innovative use of Arabic traditional modes while adapting Brechtian techniques. Myers and Saab investigate the way Wannous used Brechtian techniques in his Theatre of Politicization such as estrangement effect, frequent use of metatheatre, the use of narrations, and characterization through class and profession as opposed to the creation of character through psychological development. They also point to Wannous’ break away from the direct influence of Brecht and Marx in the later plays of the 1990s, when he drew upon Chekhov, Shakespeare, Sufi rituals, and other sources of inspiration.

“Part 2 - Reading Wannous” studies the significance of Wannous’ best-known and most-produced plays about politics, history, and theories of theatre. Zeina Halabi provides a post-structural study of Wannous’ ten-year silence that came as a reaction to multiple political and personal catastrophes culminating in the Camp David peace treaty accord between...

审核人：

• Sa'dallah Wannous 剧院：对叙利亚剧作家和公共知识分子的批判性研究。作者：Sonja Mejcher-Atassi 和 Robert Myers
• 萨马尔·扎赫拉维（简历）

Sa'dallah Wannous 剧院是第一本全面描绘最重要的现代阿拉伯剧作家萨达拉·万努斯（Sa'dallah Wannous，1941-97 年）的戏剧艺术、知识背景和戏剧影响的英文书籍。一般来说，这本书首先将 Wannous 置于叙利亚、阿拉伯和世界的背景下，并分析 Wannous 使用布莱希特技巧来引发批判性思维并促进社会和政治变革。其次，它提供了对万努斯对他那个时代的多重政治失败的沮丧所引起的戏剧主题内容的解读。第三，在上演万努斯的戏剧时，深入探讨了导演的戏剧体验。第四，它通过调查他的图书馆和记录他的两个亲密朋友和女儿关于他的回忆录来描述知识分子、男人和父亲。

编辑 Sonja Mejcher-Atassi 和 Robert Myers 巧妙地汇集了多学科专家的作品，包括文学学者、导演、创意作家和熟人。本书将吸引戏剧、文学、文化以及权威与社会变革关系领域的学者。它对任何对当代叙利亚和阿拉伯世界感兴趣的人也很有价值。这本书在批判 Wannous 的戏剧和思想以及追溯促成 Wannous 创造力的政治、社会、历史和个人因素之间的有机联系方面独树一帜。它研究了 Wannous 的剧院在后殖民和当代叙利亚及邻近国家的文化设想和影响方面的作用。

本书将 Wannous 的作品置于阿拉伯世界和世界戏剧的戏剧运动中，让读者以一种新的方式定义学科和思维模式。^{它确定了后殖民主义与威权主义的斗争以及影响 Wannous 的政治事件，例如在以色列国 (Nakba) 成立时对巴勒斯坦土地的分割，由于 6 月 5日}的战争，以色列失去了更多的土地1967 年（Naksa），戴维营协议（1978 年埃及和以色列和平条约），以及为和平和政治公平而不断的斗争。

In “Part 1 - Situating Wannous,” Marvin Carlson surveys the history of the Arabic world since the Arabic renaissance (Nahda) in Cairo, Damascus, and Beirut, starting with Marun al-Naqqash and Abu-Khalil al-Qabbani and moving up to Wannous’s time. Carlson studies the influence of European [End Page 336] theatre practitioners on Wannous and his inclination to favor Brecht’s methods over Ionesco’s, at the same time drawing from folkloric tradition to develop a genuinely Arab theatre. He also considers Wannous as a major author not just in the modern Arab world but in the theatre repertoire around the world. Robert Myers and Nada Saab study, in more detail, the influence of Bertolt Brecht and other Brechtian practitioners on Wannous, as well as Wannous’ innovative use of Arabic traditional modes while adapting Brechtian techniques. Myers and Saab investigate the way Wannous used Brechtian techniques in his Theatre of Politicization such as estrangement effect, frequent use of metatheatre, the use of narrations, and characterization through class and profession as opposed to the creation of character through psychological development. They also point to Wannous’ break away from the direct influence of Brecht and Marx in the later plays of the 1990s, when he drew upon Chekhov, Shakespeare, Sufi rituals, and other sources of inspiration.

“Part 2 - Reading Wannous” studies the significance of Wannous’ best-known and most-produced plays about politics, history, and theories of theatre. Zeina Halabi provides a post-structural study of Wannous’ ten-year silence that came as a reaction to multiple political and personal catastrophes culminating in the Camp David peace treaty accord between...