The opening night of the 45th Hammamet International Festival on Tuesday (July 7th) received mixed responses from the audience. Although it was a formidable production, many audience members walked away disappointed.
Manifesto Al Sorour, a play based on the life and achievements of Tunisian playwright Ali Douagi, was the opening act. It marked the 100th anniversary of the playwright's birth.
The play, conceived by Raja Farhat and Ezedine Madani and directed by Taoufik Jebali, depicted several phases of Douagi's short life (1909-1949), his writings and adventures. More than 100 students from the "Tiatro" theatre participated in the play.
Critics and viewers said the play failed to convey the full picture and was lengthy.
"Manifesto Al Sorour is a bold, modern interpretation of Douagi's scripts from the thirties," Tunisian journalist Saber Samih Ben Amer wrote in the London-based Arab Online. "However, the shortcomings in Jebali's [play] were many. The show is too long to the point of being boring (nearly two hours fifteen minutes)."
Ben Amer said several scenes were repeated to accommodate the lengthy play. He noticed that the new and amateur actors did their best, but still moved sluggishly and stumbled through the dialogue. The size of the cast had a negative impact on the play too, Ben Amer said.
At some point, viewers were leaving in the middle of the play.
Douagi was one of the pioneers in the Tunisian literary arena. He was one of the founders of the Taht Al Sour group, a gathering of Tunisian intellectuals that was active in the 1930s and 1940s. Douagi also founded Al Sorour newspaper in 1936.
"We tried to create an artistic vision based on Douagi's work that would speak to the huge impact Douagi had on Tunisian literature," said director Jebali.
Jebali is one of Tunisia's best, which is why many in the audience were surprised by the outcome this year. "I might excuse a novice artist," said Khaoula, one of the viewers, "but for a veteran like Taoufik Jebali, this play remains a big enigma."
After the show, Jebali said that a small stage like Hammamet's may have been one of the reasons why his vision did not go through. To accommodate 130 actors and actresses on the stage is not an easy task, he said.
To people's question whether he should have picked known and experienced actors to play the roles in his play, Jebali said: "there is no difference between an amateur and a professional actor. Aptitude is what matters."
Manifesto Al Sorour will be staged at the Carthage International Festival on July 17th and then go on tour starting October 23rd.
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