Date Published: Friday, December 27, 2024
Category: Culture
Algiers – On Thursday, the Regional Theater of Oum El Bouaghi presented the play “Beginning” by director Tunis Ait Ali, as part of the 17th edition of the National Professional Theater Festival, in the non-competitive program.
The play was staged at the small theater of Algiers-Center Municipality and is an adaptation of Fatima Kassar’s work, based on the novel “Chaos of the Senses” by Ahlam Mosteghanemi. Directed by Tunis Ait Ali, who also designed the performance and reworked the script to fit the stage language, the play explores the delicate balance between reality and fantasy through a unique artistic vision.
“Beginning” addresses the issue of the relationship between women and men through the story of “Hayat,” a young woman who immerses herself in writing novels and reading poetry. Despite living with a husband who does not share her passion, she finds refuge in her imagination. In her mind, she meets a fictional character in her writing who reads to her, enjoys her works, engages in intellectual discussions, and shares her existential questions.
Ait Ali effectively conveyed her visual text to the audience by focusing on the dual performances of the actors. The work revolves around Hayat as the central character, navigating between two time periods—one real and the other purely from her literary imagination.
The director retained a classical touch in the staging, with clear control over plot structure, time, place, and event, maintaining consistency in both the script and the ideas presented. The play primarily showcased choreography, fluid dialogue, and the interaction between the actors on a nearly empty stage, which was gradually filled with visual and auditory cues that deepened the moments of tension and attraction.
The scenography supported Ait Ali’s directorial vision, with large screens used as backgrounds that interacted with the story, presenting the different atmospheres the protagonist experiences, whether in the past or present, and between reality and fantasy. Locations such as the home, café, street, and cinema hall were depicted in her imagination.
The 17th edition of the National Professional Theater Festival continues until December 30, 2024.
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Author: Nor-Eleslam
