Redefining theater : Yusuf Idris's "al-Farāfīr" and the work of cultural decolonization

Abstract EN

This article explores Yusuf Idris's thought in "Towards an Egyptian Theater" and his play al-Farāfīr in light of broader discourse on cultural decolonization.

Idris advocates decolonization through returning to Egyptian and Arab forms of theatricality and diminished affiliation with European aesthetics.

The author argues that the contradictions between his goals and al-Farafir's realization can be resolved through the premises of adab in its premodern modalities and its contemporaneous demands for political commitment.

The emphasis on inclusive participation and radically open textuality creates a horizon of possibility for the decolonized stage, where the renegotiation of socio-political relations invokes the shattering of the play itself.