Theatre is the
father of all arts. This is a truth none can contend, and for this reason
it is my one and only passion.
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I have always
believed that playwrights distinguish themselves by their noble human
feelings. Their message can thus help people to rise above themselves,
to free themselves from their frustrations, from exploitation, and thus
be able to gain a sense of dignity. For playwrights to succeed in accomplishing
their mission and in influencing people, they should master their profession
thoroughly, and have full control over the style of artistic expression.
Otherwise their message will be blown away by whiffs of wind and leave
no trace behind, thus missing the required aim. For in every work of
art, the message of the artist has always been geared towards human
justice, maturity of expression, and authenticity. It would therefore
be wrong to think that one of these factors can hold sway over any of
the others.
They say that theatre
is an art based on solid structures devoid of all superfluous trimmings,
and that its dialogues should be firm, concise and far from any babbling.
They also say that for this reason it is incompatible with the nature
of woman, who is unable to dissociate herself from her ego, and consequently
cannot express herself with objectivity. They say! To this I reply:
woman who can carry in her womb a new life during nine months is just
as capable of creating a play that is solid and coherent. On one condition:
that she be a real playwright.
Fortunately, modern
theatre has liberated itself from traditional forms as a result of several
waves of renewal which began with Pirandello, Bernard Shaw, Brecht and
many others, with the theatre of the absurd, of refusal and of experimental
avant-gardism. Today it is very rare for an author to write in a traditional
style.
In my first play
(Women without Masks) I chose theatre within the theatre,
a formula which has become familiar in modern plays. Woment without
Masks began with a cry and a question, for I felt myself pregnant
with words dating back tens, maybe even hundreds of years.
Could it be that
the time had come for the pains of labour strangling my innermost self
to be releasing and projecting my word towards existence ? My word !
.. my passion
.. my childhood
.. my child ! I listen
to its voice so remote from complaints, from sighs. A voice that was
crushed and humiliated. A voice whose echos reverberated generation
after generation. Conscience, in human history, bears the heavy weight
of persecution and bondage.
I have refused
to set down on paper a single phrase that did not emerge from my deepest
soul. Not one line that did not express the truth about woman, and about
her power of giving. This is why I have asked my pen to take the oath
of refusing to write a single line if it were to express weakness or
frustration, as well as to refuse to obey me if it felt me cowardly
before truth. I then asked it to help me bring to the fore the greatest
number of women whose lives I share, by drawing nearer to them and becoming
their mouthpiece.
We would thus bare
ourselves completely before each other, by ridding ourselves of the
rust accumulated with the passage of time. We would cry out against
all the circumstances and events that have deprived us of the bursting
forth of our human powers.
Lastly, I believe
that theatre is the light that illuminates the path of mankind. A light
that ensures an organic link with the spectator by creating warmth between
us -- be that communication through the written text or through the
performance on stage.