Antoine Multaqa, Enduring Pillar of Lebanon’s Golden Age of Modern Theater, Exits the Stage

Arabic translation by Elie Chalala
 

While Arab theater sits at a crossroads amid questions about its path toward the future, another pillar of modern Arab theater exits the stage. Antoine Multaqa, 91, who passed away in his sleep on February 21, 2024, nurtured the development of experimental theater alongside his wife, fellow director and actor Latifa Multaqa (née Chamoun), during Beirut’s golden age of theater. In its current state, Arab theater stands a shadow of its former self, nowhere nearly as celebrated as it was during the 1960s and 1970s when Antoine Multaqa, Muneer Abou Debs, Raymond Jebara, and others ushered modernism to the Lebanese stage. Modern theater was the backbone of cultural life in Beirut. At a time when theater mainly depended on translated works, poets played active roles in writing and translating plays, bringing Western classics by Sophocles, Shakespeare, and Brecht to Arab audiences. Multaqa’s passing is a nostalgic reminder of Lebanon’s theatrical heyday and the dilemma it faces today, caught between modernity and postmodernity.

 

The period before the civil war marked a golden era in Lebanese theater. It witnessed the establishment of some of the most important theaters in Lebanon, such as the Beirut Theater, the Shushu Theater, and the Achrafieh Theater. Unlike today, playwrights and  directors were less concerned with establishing a national theater and set their sights on breaking away from the classical, traditional mold of Arab theater.

 

Lebanese director and actor Antoine Multaqa’s influence on theater opened doors to a period of innovation and experimentation. He and his wife dreamed of creating a multi-functional and multi-dimensional theater, intent on raising Lebanese theater to the level of international theater while preserving the “sanctity and honesty of the theatrical text,” writes Al Jazeera.

 

Multaqa first experienced the stage as a child, playing the role of a farm boy in 1937. It wasn’t until he was older that he fully dove into the world of theater. Born on June 9, 1933, in Wadi Chahrour, he received his primary education at Father Youssef Bou Rashid School and, as a young man, performed in a play of Voltaire’s “Alzire” with the open-air troupe of his village. The experience prompted him to later begin acting as an amateur in university. The family moved away from the town in 1944, and he continued his high school education at Al-Hikma School in Beirut.

 

 

 

 

 

5762 Lincoln Ave. #1005

Cypress, CA 90630