From its inception in the northern city of Mosul in the late nineteenth century, Iraqi theatre leaned toward the utopian. Iraqis saw themselves as inheritors of the ancient culture of Mesopotamia, and dramatists frequently referred to the region鈥檚 rich history as they imagined the future.
However, in 2003, the United States invasion of Iraq propelled Iraqi theatre in an altogether different direction. Global media published photographs documenting the torture of Iraqi detainees by American soldiers and sectarian violence broke out, as Shi士a and Sunni militias struggled for power. Theatre of Iraq Under Occupation examines the occupation鈥檚 impact on Iraqi theatre as eliciting lamentation over loss of homeland and identity, and as an assault on the Iraqi character itself. The first volume in English dedicated solely to theatre in Iraq, James Al-Shamma and Amir Al-Azraki鈥檚 insights don鈥檛 just offer a significant contribution to cultural studies, they bridge foreign policy and art in real time.
鈥淎 major accomplishment and required reading for anyone interested in Arab performance and the modern history of the Middle East. In anchoring Iraqi theatre to deep histories of lamentation and ideas of homeland and nation, Theatre of Iraq Under Occupation provides a fascinating exploration of Iraqi psychology.鈥濃擡dward Ziter, author, Political Performance in Syria: From the Six-Day War to the Syrian Uprising
