Eugene Ionesco in Sudan

Sudan Events

Romanian-French playwright Eugene Ionesco, who was born in 1909 and died in 1994.

He is considered one of the most important writers of the “Theatre of Absurd” movement, which is a theatrical movement that appeared in France after World War II, and despite its diversity, it had the greatest impact on the entire theatrical process.

At the beginning of the sixties of the last century and with the wave of theatrical renaissance in some Arab countries such as Egypt, Iraq and Syria, this movement was able to find a foothold in Sudan through the experience of what was known as the “University Theater Group” at the University of Khartoum in the period extending from 1964 to 1974, which included its brilliant stars. Professors Shawqi Ezz Al-Din, Jaafar Al-Nusairi and Abdel-Rahim Al-Shibli, with university theater was the date when the great writer Ionesco entered Sudan. Then he was further settled in the Higher Institute of Music and Theater when he became one of the academic curricula for theater students, and after that the circle of his presence expanded, and he was a source of inspiration for many directors and theatrical groups and groups. Here, some may wonder, based on the prevailing image about the Theater of the Absurd: does the Theater of the Absurd fit with the social and cultural environment in Sudan, especially in the period in which it began to appear in Sudan, since it was a period of liberal revival not only in Sudan, but in the entire world, and it was the period in which it was focused on the social roles of theatre, and the concepts of art, commitment, art, and change appeared.

Among the Ionesco plays that were performed in Sudan in different places, in the capital and the states, and on different dates:

_ The bald singer

_ The lesson

_ Chairs

(These three plays were presented at the University of Khartoum as part of the activities of the National Culture Association, the Progressive Thought Group, and the University Theater Group.)

_ The Virtuous Prostitute was shown in 1978 at the Higher Institute of Music and Theater as a graduation project by the artist Somaya Abdel Latif, and then it was shown again within the activities of the Khartoum International Fair.

_ The play “The Professor” was prepared and directed by Yahya Fadlallah with the Al-Sadeem theater group in the first half of the 1980s, and it was shown in Khartoum and other places.

_ The New Tenant

It was prepared and directed by the actor Sayed Ahmed Al-Hassan, and it was shown on the stage of the National Theater.

It is indicated, and perhaps contrary to what was expected, that the plays of Ionesco, the Theater of the Absurd have received great interest from many Sudanese directors and have received a great public response, not only in the cities, but even in some villages, as in the plays: The Professor, and the absurd play, Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, which was directed by Professor Qasim Abu Zaid.