ALL MEMORIES OF THE ACTOR OF KING RICHARD II
Adapted & directed by Sabri Zekri
Richard's actor: And you, the only survivor, the foundation of the ancient pillars of Troy... and you, the figure of honor, tomb of King Richard and not Richard himself. In the cold winter nights and the sweltering summers I will recount your tragic story to good people and in tears send them to their beds. I will recount story of dire eras that happened long ago. I recount the unfair story of the fall of a king, although today it seems fair. (Act I, All memoirs of the actor of King Richard II).
Being a loser is not as horrible as it sounds. Richard II is a loser. The great king of losers. He loses his kingdom, his crown, his throne, his land and his wife, even so, he still hopes to remain a king. All of us at some point were or will be Richard.
“All Memories of the Actor of king Richard II” is a work in progress in the field of laboratory theatre which is part of the doctoral thesis Towards the Scenic Gender. Recycling of the gender of actor through the Naghsh-poosh [dressing the figure] acting techniques, that Sabri Zekri is developing under the PhD Programme “Women’s Studies: Gender Discourses and Practices” organized by Instituto Universitario de Estudios de la Mujer y la Escuela de Doctorado de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales y Jurídicas de Universidad de Granada. The play is inspired by Shakespeare's play Richard II, Sabri's nightmare and the memories of all those performers who have participated in this show until today. A work based on the corporal and vocal expressions of the actors, addressing a new form of communication between spectator and performer.
Between the years 2017-2019, the various versions of the play were represented at the XVII International Meeting of University Theatre in Granada, the Cultural Centre María Victoria Atencia in Málaga, XVIII of Lisbon Academic University Theatre Festival, the theatre hall La Cochera Cabaret in Malaga, the Week of the Theatre Schools of Porto and the theatre hall Malapost in Lisbon.
PROJECT MEMORY
The limitations against women, first of all, manifest by the prohibition of the appearance of women on stage. Until the XVI century, the acting of women in the theatre was forbidden and the young men had to play all the female roles. The imitation of a woman by a male actor puts the following questions to debate: How does the gender of the actor and the gender of the character influence each other? And how can an actor/actress become an interpreter with a scenic gender? That is to say, how can an interpreter act out a role without stating a reference to gender?
In order to get to the responses by means of the ancient traditional Iranian theatre techniques Naghsh-poosh, we try to develop and identify the methodology of “Recycling of gender/sex of the actor”. The final product will be a living scenic body, neutralized and de-gendered, abandoning the patriarchal values, acting freely beyond the limits of gender. An interpreter with “scenic gender”, being able to liberate himself of his own gender during the portrayal and who would be able to interpret any character of any gender.
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NAGHSH-POOSH TECHNIQUE.
Naghsh-poosh or dressing the figure) is an ancient form of portrayal of the characters that erstwhile was employed in the religious Iranian theatre “Ta’ziyah”. The actor of this type of theatre shrouds his face with a scarf or handkerchief and imitates the female roles, but neither does he change his voice nor his masculine attitudes.
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BIRTH OF PROJECT.
The original idea came up in 2011, after reading Richard II by Shakespeare. In the first act, Richard seemed to me a tall masculine figure, dressed in black, trying to support himself with a single foot and practicing martial arts. Further on, in the fifth act, the scene of parting of Richard and the queen Isabel de Valois, when Richard says: ‹‹Queen that you were, to France you must go; think of me as dead and bidding farewell, do not ever forget me. Go and in winter, by the fire, recount our story to good people, how I lost crown and glory, and in tears send them to sleep. Burning logs, a mimicry they will make, with their tongues, from your voice and the fire, at the end, it will end. Some will cover themselves with ashes, of sorrow the coal has to dress them, in grief of the king who ruined himself.››, the former image transformed into a female figure, muscular and angry, getting on stage in front of the audience with her accordion, scratching her clothes and cutting her hair with scissors, and then playing her instrument.
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One year later when I lived in Cairo, I had a bad dream. It seemed as if an earthquake had occurred. There was darkness. Many voices could be heard, screaming “help us”. It seemed that a lot of people were trapped underground. I started digging, but I realised that it was “me” who was trapped and pleading “help”. The next day I decided to write down my dream as a play, but I was not able to develop it any further than the first act.
In 2015, when I studied in Lisbon, I wanted to create a monologue work based on my memories. I started to rehearse in front of the camera. The first words that came out were: ‹‹I am Richard. The Second. I am Second. A king. I am a king. I am the king Richard the Second of England, or maybe of Egyptland or Franceland or Portugalland or Spainland or Russialand or… thus, I am the king Richard the Second of some land!››. This is how “All Memories of the Actor of king Richard II” came into being which to this day has been performed at various festivals and theatre stages, traveling from Lisboa to Malaga and Granada.
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THE DEVELOPMENT PROCEES.
PHASE I>> Solitude
The first phase was developed between the years 2015-2016 in Lisbon. At the beginning the play was more like a monologue. Sabri was the only actor and at the same time the director of this version which lasted approximately 25 min.
PHASE II>> Remembrance and dreams
This phase has been developed in malaga between the years 2016-2017. Durig this priod Sara C. Muñoz of Spain, Ana Lúcia de Macedo Ribeiro of Brazil and Sajjad Yari of Iran arrived. In this way, everyone added their story to the play. At this time, the play lasted approximately 45 min. The interesting parts of the remembrances of the actors, the dream in Cairo and some parts of the tragedy by Shakespeare formed this version. In 2017, Sara and Sajjad left the play and Lucas Dobelmann, German actor, and Andrea Martín Losada, Spanish flutist, substituted them.
PHASE III>> Chaos and Harmony
This phase has been developed in Granada between the years 2018-2019. The scenes of every interpreter were developed. Furthermore, Daniela Leite Castro, Portuguese actress and violinist, joined the troupe. She tells a story of ancient Persia that covers the birth of darkness and light in the world. This version which lasted approximately 65-70 minutes.
Spain-Portugal, 2017- 2019
Duration: 65 min.
