The much-touted revival of Tawfiq Al-Hakim’s “Praxa – based on Aristophanes’ “Lysistrata – about the role women could play in government and putting an end to a needless war, has been dubbed by some critics as the must-see theatrical performance of the year.
“Lysistrata was staged by international theater companies in recent years as an outcry against the Iraq war. However, “Praxa, the first production by Theatroe, a new Egyptian production company, accomplishes none of that.
This musical comedy is falsely advertised as based on “Lysistrata when in fact its main theme is adapted from Aristophanes’ other play about women, “The Assembly Women.
Nader Salah Eddin’s “Praxa (Al-Hakim or Aristophanes would never recognize the current production as theirs) is a grand production, performed at the Main Hall of the Cairo Opera House featuring a grand, detailed set, lavish costumes, and a cast of 62 actors and dancers, in addition to the six main characters, including the star singer, film star Boshra.
Underneath Salah Eddin’s musical adaptation – which centers on a group of women, led by the titular character, who initiate a coup, overthrow the government and decide to rule their country – is a stereotypical image of women that is even less evolved from the ancient Greek text.
After taking over government, Praxa sings about her troubles managing her new job; her concerns seem to be “dresses, tattoos and perfumes. Deciding to take better care of herself and to enjoy some luxury during her travels suddenly turns the performance into a Broadway musical number, complete with levels of steps, and female dancers in pink tuxedos with Bob Fosse’s signature hats.
The new treatment of the classical text is infused with song and dance, leaving room for little dramatic dialogue, which is mainly comedic.
The play’s style of comedy bears no resemblance to the classical situational comedy of the first master of comedy, Aristophanes. Salah Eddin’s performance is crammed with one-liners, irrelevant jokes and slang puns, ranging from the army leader claiming that he could put three of the enemy soldiers on his sword like “shish kebabs, to mockingly suggesting that since Praxa is running the government, her husband and other men have to busy themselves with stuffing grape leaves.
The theme of the play is not spelled out until much later in the performance: Who is more qualified to rule, Power (the Army leader, Heromenos), Wisdom (the Philosopher, Ibekrat) or Beauty (Praxa). It is interesting to note that as a woman, Praxa is reduced to embody beauty, with no possibility of her having either wisdom or power, and because the other two are men, they cannot take pride in possessing fine physical attributes.
The tension between the three is resolved when they decide to rule together, putting a characterless King as a front. They choose Praxa’s spineless husband to be the puppet monarch, only to realize that as a puppet, he could be moved by other hands as well.
Following a long dull trail in which the three major players manipulate the people to revolt against the new king, the performance ends with a reconciliatory song.
After abusing the people, and losing the war, the concluding song has the three leaders apologize to the masses, to end the performance on a happy note, with the sun of a new day shining on Athena.
This grand production, with its reported budget of LE 3 million (a large portion of which just to cover the rental of the Main Hall), provided an entertaining evening to the thinly populated theater. The audience seemed to be engaged in the songs and dances, the warm presence of the protagonist, the physical humor and the jokes.
If one forgets the original Greek inspiration (“The Assembly Women ) and Tawfiq Al-Hakim’s adaptation, and anything pertaining to women’s rights and equality, and watches “Praxa as a new production, it is possible to enjoy the visually vibrant performance with its adept dancers, quality décor and costumes by Mahmoud Sami, solid choreography by Tamer Fathi, and fine score by Hisham Gabr.
But the question remains, with all this talent, high production values and Salah Eddin’s undeniable talent in song writing, why use an ancient text and deform it that way? Why not write something new and original?
“Praxa is performed daily, 9 pm, at the Cairo Opera House’s Main Hall through July 29. Tel: (02) 2739 0144.
