CCQ organises symposium on 'Drama and History'

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Qatari Theatre, the Theater Arts programme at Community College of Qatar (CCQ) organised a symposium on 'Drama and History', in the presence of president Dr Khalid Mohamed al-Horr, Liberal Arts Division dean Dr Mustafa al-Khawaldeh, a group of specialists, and several students.Media and theatre expert Dr Marzouq Bashir, theatre artist Saad Burshid, and Arabic Language lecturer Dr Rami Abu Shehab, participated in the symposium moderated by Theatre Arts Programme co-ordinator Dr Said Ennaji.Dr Bashir described 'Drama and History' as a current topic that raises many questions and debates, especially with the large number of series and films dealing with historical issues and stories that resonate with people and reach public cultural, media, and even political opinion.He also addressed the complex relationships between drama and history, and the necessity of erasing preconceived ideas that may give power to the 'guardians of history' at the expense of drama under the pretext of "loyalty to the historical truth”.Drama is intended to be subject to history and its details, but the historical truth is not agreed upon first, he said.Dr Bashir defended the primacy of drama and its ability to adapt and transform the historical story according to writing strategies and the requirements and priorities of dramatic production.The goal allows for the disposal of the historical element as it does not intend to convey historical events as they are, and at which history stops, but it digs into the reasons behind the historical event to illuminate the present and proposes a vision for the future.He added "we need to embody the idea that history becomes nothing more than a dramatic tool, and an element of dramatic imagination, whether in a series, film, or play, and not a sacred historical document, which allows for a dramatic approach that illuminates the present and the future and does not stop at rigid historical facts."Artist Burshid observed that current drama production in Qatar does not keep pace with developments in the media and drama field, nor with the development of the international television and cinema industry, although Qatar has now become a global model in independent media production and influential in global public opinion.Qatar has a unique experience in sports media, which raises question about the unconvincing status of drama production, Burshid said.Dr Rami Abu Shehab expressed his astonishment at the cinema productions that dealt with history, and the relevant means including presenting historical stories and dealing with historical figures. He also addressed the intersection of drama and cinema with history, whether on the Arab or international level, and focused on the ideological employment of history in cinema through the huge number of films devoted to the Holocaust and stories of Nazi violence against the Jews.He expressed astonishment at this huge number of films that side with history in many of their models, motivated by a purely ideological desire to present a "history” that makes us forget the suffering of the Palestinian people, including killing and displacement.This reveals the West's ability to tailor a cinematic discourse that can formulate a new form of history to its interests. This raises the question about the responsibility of the Arabs and their film industry in light of this situation, so the answer concludes to the lack of historical films in the Arab world and their inability, despite their importance, to confront the Western historical cinema productions that present Western history as a dominant model.In conclusion, Dr Ennaji emphasised that whether theatrical or cinematic, drama has its logic represented in creating spectacles and shaping the spectator’s awareness. Hence, drama makes history, and does not convey its events.