On stage, Yara Bou Nassar and Elie Youssef bring family memories back to life in "The Adventures of a Hypothetical Self." (Credit: Philippe Frowein/MC93)
"Don’t stand facing the water. Watch its flow… water can explode… My body fears loud voices. More than bombs… " The Arabic words appear on a screen. With this prologue, imagined in memory of her grandfather, the poet Ounsi al-Hage, Yara Bou Nassar opens "Les Aventures d’un soi hypothétique" (The Adventures of a Hypothetical Self). The Lebanese playwright and director seeks to bring back the intimate moments she shared with him. She began writing the play after his death, but his spirit runs through it.Presented at the Maison de la culture de Bobigny, in the Paris suburbs, this new production blends fiction and documentary, tracing the lives of her parents and, through them, the story of contemporary Lebanon, from one war to the next. It is part of the Mediterranean Season in France, which is showcasing Arabic-language...
"Don’t stand facing the water. Watch its flow… water can explode… My body fears loud voices. More than bombs… " The Arabic words appear on a screen. With this prologue, imagined in memory of her grandfather, the poet Ounsi al-Hage, Yara Bou Nassar opens "Les Aventures d’un soi hypothétique" (The Adventures of a Hypothetical Self). The Lebanese playwright and director seeks to bring back the intimate moments she shared with him. She began writing the play after his death, but his spirit runs through it.Presented at the Maison de la culture de Bobigny, in the Paris suburbs, this new production blends fiction and documentary, tracing the lives of her parents and, through them, the story of contemporary Lebanon, from one war to the next. It is part of the Mediterranean Season in France, which is showcasing...
