Does one truly have a distinct vision of what is real and what is an illusion?
Love is the world’s infinite mutability; Lies, hatred, murder even, are all knit up in it; it is the inevitable blossoming of its opposites, a magnificent rose smelling faintly of blood. A dream which makes the world seem . an illusion. The art of illusion is the art of love, and the art of love is the blood-red heart of the world. At times I think there is nothing else. -Pierre Corneille, The Illusion.
The theater at the American University in Cairo brought to life the seventeenth-century French theater figure Pierre Corneilles, “The Illusion (1635), which was his last comedy before he turned solely to tragedy. Corneille himself characterized the play as “a strange monster, bizarre and extravagant.
In 1988 “L’Illusion Comique , a free adaptation by Tony Kushner premiered; one of America’s most honored playwrights. Since then it has been seen on many theaters world wide becoming popular with collages world wide.
The story begins as Pridamant of Avignon, a lawyer played by Robert Beshara who is also a composer who produced an original score for the play. Pridamant pleads a sorcerer in the South of France to show him his son whom he banished 15 years a go due to his wild ways but now feels guilty for.
Alcandre, the magician played by Sarah Youssef, starts to show the lawyer visions, or illusions, of his son’s life. Here Corneille intertwines the role of a sorcerer and an artist of the theater, perhaps even challenging the nature of the theater itself
The visions go on exploring his son’s romantic escapades. He falls in love with a wealthy noble man’s daughter (played by Kara Szczepanski). The wild boy convinces her to choose him, a poor man, over all the rich suitors who come from all over the world to ask for her hand in marriage against of course her fathers wishes.
Meanwhile he also falls in love with her maid, but explains to her that although her beauty intrigues him, money is more important to him.
After a strange twist of events, tangled with passion and violence, he ends up in jail. Szczepanski character decides to give up all her wealth to get her beloved out of jail, ironically leaving the maid with huge fortune and herself penniless.
Through it all, Pridament watches transfixed and perplexed. Each vision seems real to him, yet his son remains remote and out of reach. And just to add to his confusion in every vision the characters names change. His sons name changes from Calisto, Clindor and finally Theogenes in the last scene.
These young actors put on an impressive show. The actor Karim Kassem that plays the son (Calisto, Clindor and/or Theogenes) is actually a real life actor who gained much recognition in his role in last summers surprise hit, “Awkat Faragh (Free Time).
One performance that can not go unnoticed is Samy Selim who plays Matamore, a lunatic with a great sense of humor. Selim is actually a graduate of AUC who regularly participate in theatrical productions.
Another remarkable performance was that of Sarah Youssef (Alcandre the magician) who is a senior majoring in theater that transferred from Germany in 2004 where she was studying literature, Anglo-American History and Philosophy.
The rest of the cast was just as notable, like Ahmed Omar playing a mute servant to Alcandre and Amina Khalil pulling off the role effortlessly the role of intriguing maid.
Director Frank Bradly teaches theater history and directing at AUC. He served as chairman for the Department of Performing and Visual Arts from 1999-2005.
Set design, costume design and lighting are notably professional.
The plays general theme is questioning reality. Does one truly have a distinct vision of what is real and what is an illusion? The play suggests not, but it does imply that through love and art we may have a closer grasp on who we are.
The IllusionBy Pierre CorneilleAdapted by Tony KushnerDirected by Frank BradleyFalaki TheaterThe American University in Cairo
