The new Egyptian play Ma’sat al Hallaj (The Tragedy of al Hallaj) written by the highly-acclaimed poet Salah Abdel Sabour and directed by Ahmed Abdel-Aziz, is currently staged at al Tali’a Theater in Cairo, according to al Ahram Weekly.
Starring Mahmoud Mas’oud, Ahmed Siyam, Ahmed Sadeq and Tareq Ismail.
The play revolves around "the revolt and martyrdom of the mystic-rebel al Hussein Ibn al Mansour in Baghdad, in the year 309 H (c 930 AD)," writes Nehad Selaiha.
Al Hallaj was at once a mystic, poet and political agitator; when he was tried and executed it was unclear whether the charge was heresy or political agitation. But in view of his socialist leanings, urgent sense of poetic vocation, and deeply-ingrained mystical bent, “Abdel Sabour found in this historical figure an apt vehicle to project his own dilemma as an intellectual torn between the overpowering urge to dedicate himself to the nurturing of his talent and the demands of a social conscience pushing him in the direction of active political involvement.” – Albawaba.com
