[LCM Articles] [Leb4ever] Ban set to be lifted on a new play about the Civil War

Thu Aug 30 00:54:02 EDT 2007

Political Theater

Ban is set to be lifted on a new play about the Civil War 

Benjamin Ryan, NOW Staff 

http://www.nowlebanon.com/Print.aspx?ID=11199 

Lebanon has long been the city upon a hill for the Arab world when it comes to free expression. According to the International Press Institute, Lebanon is “traditionally recognized as having the most liberal and outspoken media in the region.” Yet that reputation can sometimes obscure the censorship that does take place in Lebanon: As playwrights Rabih Mroué and Fadi Toufiq discovered this past month, sometimes you have to fight for your right to put on a play.

After a brief battle with the General Security censors, their play about the Lebanese civil war, How Nancy Wished That Everything Was an April Fool’s Joke, was unceremoniously banned in Lebanon. According to a press release from the play’s backers distributed on Thursday, the play was originally submitted for approval in mid-July of this year. On July 31, they received a letter from the Director General of General Security, Wafiq Jezzini, informing them that the play had been rejected. When they asked for an explanation, they were told that the play “might trigger civil turmoil” and “name names.”

The play’s producers called on Culture Minister Tarek Mitri to lobby the General Security directorate as well. In response, Mitri’s office issued a statement on Saturday, August 25, saying that he saw no reason that the play should be banned. As a result of his efforts, the cabinet will take up the issue the night of August 27 and is expected to overturn the ban. 

Interestingly, that means that the government will be overturning an opposition ruling: Although the media censorship board is technically part of the Ministry of the Interior, in practice, the bureau it falls under, General Security, is believed to respond to March 8, rather than the pro-March 14 Interior Minister Hassan Sabeh. Whether this controversy is another spat in the struggle between the government and the opposition is unclear, however, as the play itself is not inherently more damaging to one side or another. Requests for comment from the Interior Ministry were referred to the General Security directorate.

Nancy co-author Fadi Toufiq told NOW Lebanon that the Interior Ministry "didn't clarify the reasons" the play was initially banned. "They just gave a general cliché about unity and society or something, that this [play] would motivate people to fight each other."

Playwright Lina Khoury also tangled with the government censors last year over her play inspired by the Vagina Monologues, “Haki Niswan.” Like Nancy’s producers, Khoury ended up appealing to Mitri, who made a complaint with the General Security bureau on her behalf. “He didn’t know me before, but he was very helpful.”

Khoury had much more feedback from her censors, however. After more than a year of negotiations over the script, often going paragraph by paragraph and line by line, Khoury was able to open a modified version of the play that the censors could accept. 

 “Ordinarily it takes about 10 days for them to reply. The censors did reply after 10 days, but only to tell me that the version in their hands was not acceptable.”

Her application was also delayed in part by the Hariri assassination. “I gave them four or five months where I didn’t press them, and plus there was a new director general who came into office,” she recalled. 

The Media Censorship office is charged with clearing all plays as well as written and broadcast media in Lebanon. They can yank anything that threatens state security or violates the law, though the criteria determining what is or is not permissible are not entirely clear. Artists do not have a list of regulations or laws to refer to before submitting their work to the General Security offices. As elsewhere, sex, politics, and religion are reliably touchy subjects, and in Lebanon the trifecta invariably overlap – particularly as Lebanon’s confessional system ensures that any religious controversy is also inherently political – and vice versa. 

Khoury acknowledged the difficulties, saying, “Because we live in a society, we have to have some rules and guidelines – people must have the knowledge and intelligence to know when to bend the rules. I have a PhD in this, so I know what I'm doing. And the people making the decisions must work with the artists to figure out what works or doesn't.”

Yet differing political factions attack each other daily in Lebanese news outlets and billboards, racy music videos and outright pornography are available via satellite TV, and unrestricted internet access is available at home or in thousands of internet cafes. In such an age, it seems odd that plays should receive so much scrutiny. Is the theater that dangerous?

Nancy does cover sensitive territory. Mroué’s and Toufiq’s play explores the Lebanese civil war through the eyes of a rotating series of militia members, played by a cast of four actors sitting together on a couch. Each character tells a story in which they are killed in battle, overlapping with the stories of the other characters around them. The narrative is veritably Cubist; each perspective is presented with total sincerity, despite their frequent contradictions. 

Of course, the major problem with telling the story of the Lebanese civil war is that Lebanon has never come to a consensus about what that story is. With political tensions high as the presidential elections draw near, any potentially divisive work is given extra scrutiny.

But Toufiq believes that rather than being divisive, the play is beneficial to the reconciliation process. "[Lebanese in the diaspora] feel it's essential to talk about the Civil War, to deal with this deplorable history, not to close our eyes and not talk about it because it's dangerous."

Toufiq added, "I worked as a journalist and I know that most Lebanese aren't afraid to talk about the Civil War, they don't agree that talking about it will make it happen again.”

Christine Tohme of Ashkal Alwan, the play’s producer, concurred: "I think it's the history that we have to deal with. I think that the Sûreté Générale’s reaction is definitely affected by the political situation; but I believe that we are capable of dealing with our history, and it is essential that we talk about it. Anyway, there shouldn’t be any kind of censorship on cultural production."

"Everywhere in the world war memorials are made. The play is kind of addressing the fact that war in general is absurd, and banal. The events mentioned in the play have been published in newspapers."

In his press release, Mitri agreed as well, stating, “Talking about the facts of history, rather than making it up as some politicians and writers do, helps us to heal.”

 “The General Security directorate says they are just following the law, but I don’t see it that way. In any case, I am working on changing [the censorship laws].”

In the grand Lebanese tradition, the Nancy team has already taken its talents overseas. The play ran in Tokyo this past spring, and future performances are scheduled for Rome, Paris, Cairo and Rabat. With publicity built up around the play and the government now expected to act, the play is tentatively scheduled to show in Beirut on Thursday, August 30.

One can only hope it does, and that Mitri’s work on censorship laws comes to fruition. It seems so much of Lebanon’s history has been decided beyond its borders – it would be a shame if it was only remembered there as well.

More about the play… 

Rabih Mroue HOW NANCY WISHED THAT EVERYTHING WAS AN APPRIL FOOL’S JOKE Written and directed by Rabih Mroue Mar.23-27 Nishi-sugamo Arts Factory A provocative multimedia performance by a Lebanese prodigy. The world premier of awaited new production.Rabih Mroue HOW NANCY WISHED THAT EVERYTHING WAS AN APPRIL FOOL’S JOKE Written and directed by Rabih Mroue Mar.23-27 Nishi-sugamo Arts Factory A provocative multimedia performance by a Lebanese prodigy. The world premier of awaited new production.

Rabih Mroue is a Lebanese artist who works ubiquitously across the borders of theater, visual art, fine art and music and triggers a storm in the global art community. The provocation is almost to the limit of censorship, and exquisite humor relentlessly represents and destructs the faults and contradictions of Lebanese society that he belongs to and fiercely criticizes its fictitiousness. Then, what potential remains in arts?　What is the role of the “individual” living in a community? The awaited new production from Beirut after the nightmare in the summer of 2006 is anticipated to be a cross of “stories = histories” of individuals and society, reflecting the situation in Lebanon which is changing every moment. This new production is co-produced by Tokyo International Arts Festival and Festival d’Automne Paris. 

Cast/Staff

Text: Fadi Toufic and Rabih Mroué
Directed by: Rabih Mroué
Performed by: Lina Saneh, Hatem El-Imam, Ziad Antar and Rabih Mroué
Set design, graphics: Samar Maakaroun
Animation: Ghassan Halwani
Theoretical consultant: Jalal Toufic
Assistant director: Hania Mroué
Video Installation: Lamia Joreige
Poster collection and research: Ziena Maasri

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