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The Algerian National Theater Mahieddine-Bachtarzi (TNA) is organizing, next Saturday, an exhibition and round tables around the period 1963-1972, as part of the National Theater Archives Center project initiated by Ziani Cherif Ayad.
During this event, which is part of the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the nationalization of the TNA, a meeting will present the bases of the National Center for Theater Archives, currently being created. Two round tables will be organized, focusing on professional and amateur theater, as well as the beginnings of the Mostaganem Amateur Theater Festival.
The first round table will explore the founding legal texts of the TNA, with presentation by the researcher and theater critic Abdelnasser Khallaf. The journalist and theater critic Rabah Houadef will analyze the works produced by the National Theater between 1963 and 1972.
Mohamed Bourahla, writer and playwright, will discuss adaptation and translation in works from this period. He will look at the example of the work of Abdelkader Alloula “Homq Salim”. Dr Mohamed Boukeras, researcher, theater critic and director of the Higher Institute of Performing Arts and Audiovisual Professions (Ismas), will discuss the beginnings of theater training in the 1960s.
Dr Makhlouf Boukrouh will look at the audience of the Algerian National Theater between 1963 and 1972, while critic Nadjib Stambouli will analyze theater criticism in the Algerian press in the 1960s.
Bouziane Benachour, author, playwright and critic, will present a talk on the emergence of the Mostaganem National Amateur Theater Festival. The actor Abdellah Hamlaoui will discuss the beginnings of amateur theater in Algeria. Nadjib Stambouli will also return to independent theater troupes, and researcher Ahmed Cheniki will share his point of view as a witness to the period 1963-1972.
The event will also include stage readings from this period, performed by actress Mounira Rouabehi Fissa, musically accompanied by Sensabyl Beghdadi. An exhibition will present photos, archives and models of National Theater productions between 1963 and 1972.
The TNA announced that it would focus this year on launching this project, transforming the existing archives service into a national center. Significant progress has been made in the field of digitalization, which should greatly facilitate the work of researchers and theater enthusiasts.
According to the organizers, the theater archive is a preserved document relating to the history of theater. “Collecting it, assigning it a place to be deposited, preserved and managed, means protecting its artistic memory and satisfying the conditions of scientific research. But, above all, by authorizing the transmission, from generation to generation, of a cultural heritage, it allows a society to better understand its past and plan its future,” they said.
“The TNA round tables are intended to promote Algerian theater and raise awareness of the importance of the archive. Permanent and evolving, with varied themes, they will focus, during this meeting, on the activity of Algerian theater during the period 1963-1972,” they explained. At the end of the interventions, a known and recognized theatrical personality will intervene to summarize the round table and give his point of view.
A young artist will also express his contemporary perspective on what he learned from the event. The public will be able to intervene in accordance with the regulations organizing the round tables. The interventions, recorded and transcribed, will feed the archives of the National Center for Algerian Theater Archives (CNAT) and will be made available to researchers, students and theater professionals.