Meeting with the director, Mr. Nehme Nehme:
When asked the cliché question, “what do you do (in life)”, the “normal” answer was (and still is) interior designer.
Mr. Nehme however asked an unanticipated question “what do you really like to do?”
Why unanticipated? It coincided with a phrase I had read a few days before our meeting:
(“يسألونك مثلاً ماذا تعمل… لا ماذا كنت تريد أن تكون.” أحلام مستغانمي ، “فوضى الحواس” ص.79)
It is not the “philosophical” significance of the question as much as it is Mr. Nehme’s “intellectual” approach to the issue that intrigued my attention.
THE play:
Vitrine- فيترين is a play reflecting two mannequins’ “lives” behind a display window (of a store in Beirut), witnessing all the voices and echoes of the streets, the buildings, the cars, the city, its chaos and disorder …
Vitrine- فيترين reflects people’s worries and concerns. It is a sincere interpretation of the city we live in, its contradictions, its inconsistencies, and its variations.
Besides the very appealing scenario and visuals, the actresses’ (Aida Sabra and Julia Kassar) well balanced body movements, costumes and facial expressions added more coherence to the play.
The play of shadows added a sense of dynamism and liveliness.
The play’s closure is the mannequins’ understanding of the existing social situation with all its fakeness and “insanity”.
photos from the play (http://therefordesign.net/blog/)
photos from the play (http://therefordesign.net/blog/)
photos from the play (http://therefordesign.net/blog/)
Selected quotes: (slang Lebanese)
متل الغبرة بلا أحلام
الحيط عم يحميني حتّى من حالي
القصص بتشبهنا مش الكتب
الحيطان بتحمي الأحلام
الحيطان عندا قصص تخبّرا
الحيطان عم ترسم صور
الذاكرة متل البرغي المصدّي بالمفصل
اسكتي صيري متل الضجر
*thank you Mr.Nehme Nehme for your time and for the exceptional play
