The Sultan's Dilemma
سلطان حیران
Author: Tawfiq al-Hakim · 1960
About this work
A Mamluk sultan learns that his right to rule is being questioned, because he was once a slave and his former master never freed him. The vizier wants the rumour-monger executed, but the chief judge proposes that the sultan be sold at public auction so that the buyer can free him and restore his legitimacy. The sultan chooses law over the sword. A woman of ill repute buys him and agrees to free him only when the dawn call to prayer is heard. The judge tricks the muezzin into calling early, but the sultan refuses the ruse, and in the end the woman frees him herself. According to Arabic Wikipedia, critics read the play as a comment on Nasser's Egypt, while al-Hakim said in his preface that he wrote it in 1959 about the struggle between the United Nations and the nuclear powers.
سلطانی از ممالیک درمی‌یابد که مردم در مشروعیت حکومتش تردید دارند، زیرا او زمانی برده بوده و ارباب پیشینش هرگز آزادش نکرده است. وزیر می‌خواهد شایعه‌پراکن را بکشد، اما قاضی‌القضات پیشنهاد می‌کند سلطان در حراجی عمومی فروخته شود تا خریدار آزادش کند و او دوباره بر تخت بنشیند. سلطان راه قانون را بر شمشیر برمی‌گزیند. زنی بدنام او را می‌خرد و تنها می‌پذیرد که با بانگ اذان سحر آزادش کند. قاضی مؤذن را می‌فریبد تا زودتر اذان بگوید، اما سلطان این نیرنگ را نمی‌پذیرد و سرانجام زن خود او را آزاد می‌کند. به نوشتهٔ ویکی‌پدیای عربی، منتقدان نمایش را اشاره‌ای به مصر دوران ناصر خوانده‌اند، اما الحکیم در مقدمه گفته است آن را در ۱۹۵۹ دربارهٔ کشمکش سازمان ملل و قدرت‌های هسته‌ای نوشته است.
Listen
تماشا · National Theatre of Egypt production recorded by Arab Television, stage director Fotouh Nashati, TV director Kamel Youssef, with Mohamed El-Dafrawy as the Sultan, Samiha Ayoub as the woman and Fakher Fakher as the chief judge, Maspero Zaman official archive channel ▶ Listen at the source ↗
اجرا · {EG} Assem Nagaty · Mohamed Riad, Hanan Motawie, Mofid Ashour · Miami Theatre, Cairo · 2009 · photo and review ▶ Listen at the source ↗
اجرا · {QA} Abdulrahman Al-Hababi · Abdulrahman Al-Hababi, Anji Mahmoud, Mariam Fawzi · Lusail University troupe, Drama Theatre Katara, Doha Theatre Festival, adapted as Shahbandar al-Tujjar · 2023 · video ▶ Listen at the source ↗
اجرا · {BD} Shomoy Sanskritik Goshthi · cast not named · Experimental Theatre Hall, Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka, in Bengali as Shesh Shonglap · 2010 · photo and review ▶ Listen at the source ↗
نقد · Shudeepto Ariquzzaman · The Daily Star, Bangladesh · admiring ▶ Listen at the source ↗
نقد · Noura Abaoub · MA thesis in Arabic language and literature, University of M'Sila, Algeria, 2014, supervised by Aissa Bounab · mixed ▶ Listen at the source ↗
These performances are variants of the piece and may differ from the score on this card.
Details
- Author
- Tawfiq al-Hakim
- Year
- 1960
- Language
- Arabic
- Class
- Landmark Productions
- Type
- Theater
- Source
- Ganjineh
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