It is 1936, in
Jerusalem. One, two, three, four… count till you reach shop number five,
Damascus Gate. Above the shop hangs a huge sign that reads: Zaatara Cafe.
اضافة اعلان
This is the
setting for a play recently performed in Amman, written and performed by actor
Hussam Abu Eisheh and directed by Kamel Al-Basha.
“Zaatara Cafe” is
a monodrama that brings to life 40 years of wise, profane, deeply moving
stories and lively characters in a miniature version of the city of Jerusalem.
The performance
derives its name from the largest cafe in the Old City of Jerusalem, situated
near Damascus Gate. The cafe was owned by Khalil Zaatara, who was forced to
close it down in 1979 after the Israeli occupation forcibly deported him to
Jordan. Overnight, the cafe was turned into children’s toy store.
The play was
performed at Darat Al Funun in Amman on October 29 under the open sky, surrounded
by archeological ruins. It served as an opening for Darat Al Funun’s program
“Collections and Archives”, which accompanies the dual exhibition “Topography
of Place — Palestine and Jordan, Homage to Dr Hisham Al Khatib” and “Revisiting
Darat al Funun’s Main Building: Story, History, and Restoration”, currently
open to the public through the end of January 2023.
A personal story
The main actor Abu Eisheh is a renowned artist and one of the founders
of a popular folk theater in occupied
Jerusalem. He has made several
contributions to film, television, theater, and radio, including “Alive from
Palestine: Stories under Occupation”, “First of May”, “Spartacus” and “Return
to Haifa”, among others.
The performance
is a tale of Zaatara Cafe, seen through the eyes of Saleh Abu Eisheh, the
father of the play’s writer and a cafe waiter who was displaced from the city
of Lod.
Saleh worked at
Zaatara and acted as a point of connection between various regular customers
from around the city, including politicians, intellectuals, academics,
merchants, tribal elders, and other key figures. The play reflects the journey
of the cafe and the city as a whole, from 1938 until Zaatara closed in the late
seventies.
In a sense, the
play is a densely textured memoir-in-fragments as Abu Eisheh recounts events he
witnessed and lived through with his father. With its inspiration coming from
the actor’s personal history, the performance blurs the lines between fantasy
and reality, dreaming and waking.
The vital space
of the cafe
Over the span of
70 minutes, Abu Eisheh covers a wide range of versatile characters, 21 in
number, six of them women. The people he presents come from different social
classes in Jerusalem society. There is a doctor, a merchant, a plumber, an
Israeli intelligence officer, a school administrator, a neighbor, and more.
The play explores
the significance of the historical cafes in the
Old City — how they served as a
microcosm of society with all its classes and their political, social, and
cultural role in national conflicts and burdens.
The play also
highlights the Palestinian people’s struggles against the British Mandate and
Israeli occupation and how the intimacy and social vitality of cafes was a
thorn in the side of occupiers. Even the most simple, everyday rituals of
existence could undermine the system Israel was attempting to put in place, and
its efforts to suffocate the traditions of the Palestinians.
The subtle
coexistence of
Muslims and Christians in the city, as well as their affection,
tolerance, and familiarity with one another in the face of their common
resistance of the occupation, is another recurring theme of the play.
In contrast to
most monodrama performances that compensate for the absence of multiple actors
with audio and visual techniques, Abu Eisheh presented his performance without
music or artistic effects, using limited props: a table, a chair, a hookah, a
bag, and some cloth. The simplicity of the stage placed the main emotional
focus on the narrative.
Reliving the story
of Jerusalem
The play’s writing foregrounds the act of telling and ruminating on
intentions, expressing undeveloped impulses, fears, or yearnings in clear,
logical prose.
While “Zaatara
Cafe” is deeply meaningful on the levels of performance, content, and text, it
is Abu Eisheh’s dazzling theatrical performance that accomplishes the delicate
balance between numb and raw. The spectrum of emotions spans from mirth to
grief, mourning, and laughter again. While we have seen Jerusalem thousands of
times on screen, we may not have heard tales from the heart of the ancient city
in the way Abu Eisheh tells them.
Since it was
first produced, “Zaatara Cafe” has received several awards in regional
festivals such as the Fujairah International Arts Festival and the Carthage
International Monodrama Festival in Tunisia.
Luma Hamdan,
Darat al Funun’s director, said the choice of the performance to kick off the
“Collections and Archives” program was careful and deliberate, as it is based
on a true story of Palestinian life. “Through his relations and interactions,
we get to relive the story of Jerusalem during that period,” she explained.
“The play offers
a unique approach to using archives in a dramatic and live setup that is
engaging to the audience and at the same time, eye opening to how history could
be revisited and presented,” she told
Jordan News.
On stage, the tales and
pains of the Palestinians are poignant, each tale earning applause with
heart wrenching subtlety and art.
Read more Property
Jordan News
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