The current production of Lenin El Ramly’s latest play “Zaki Fi El Wizara (Zaki in the Ministry) says much about the stagnant state of the National Theater.
Known for producing the landmarks of Egyptian theatre and challenging private theater commercialism, the National Theater has had a tough time maintaining this reputation in recent years.
Headed by Ashraf Zaki, it has been presenting productions of different genres with the ingredients of surefire hits: renowned playwrights, directors and stars; serious and coherent stories and fairly good techniques.
But despite the presence of all these elements, the overall result often falls short of expectations.
These mediocre performances leave theatergoers momentarily entertained, but hardly impressed or invigorated.
Directed by Essam El Sayed and written by the seasoned playwright El Ramli, “Zaki is no different; theoretically it should have been a hit, but in reality it doesn’t offer anything new to an overused plot.
The basic premise of the play is quite promising. In terms of message and depth of subject matter (the corruption of high-ranking officials), it certainly doesn’t meet the normal qualifications of mediocrity. In addition to the themes it brings to the forefront, the play boasts an all-star cast, featuring Hussein Fahmy, Hala Fakher and Omar El Hariri, among others.
The title character (Fahmy) is an idealistic university professor expecting his name to appear on the list of the newly appointed cabinet ministers. Zaki believes that his position would enable him to put his knowledge and ideals to the service of his country.
When his expectations are realized as he becomes the minister of sports and youth overnight, he quickly launches a major project intending to improve the fortunes of young people. But his project is soon turned down by the Prime Minister Rasim El Wathik (El Hariri) and the rest of the ministers, simply because there is no budget or desire to change the status quo.
Initially, Zaki seems determined and keen for his family to be treated as ordinary Egyptian citizens and resists the temptation of using his position for any personal gains. But he soon realizes that becoming a high-ranking official imposes realities he cannot avoid.
It also seems that foul play is an integral part of the process as Zaki is given the green light to misuse his power.
The the subject of the play has been used repeatedly, to the point of banality. Even the fast-changing scenes aimed at reinforcing and highlighting the satirical element of the play fail to conceal the lack of innovation in the central idea.
The stars have probably accepted these roles as a kind of break from TV serials and movies or simply to prove that they still enjoy a strong theater presence, but sadly there is nothing special about their stage performances; someone should have told them.
It’s an even bigger disappointment that El Ramly’s name, itself a crowd-puller, doesn’t stand up to the reputation of his previous works. In spite of his signature satirical dialogue and interesting plot, it seems that the playwright, like his cast, is also having a short break from a long, stunning streak of creativity and innovation.
Regrettably, this state of artistic staleness is also true of many of the National Theater productions during the last two or three years.
Despite the significant surge in profit, it is dealing with theatrical releases in the fashion of cinematic ones: they are mostly seasonal, diverse and short, placed in one big mixed bag.
If the theater’s recent offerings are a lucky dip, then this show’s audience has reached in and pulled out a dud.
