Company, the musical 2019

The classical American musical Company gets a gender-swap treatment in London theatres. But does the play need this treatment? Some may think not really. But let's think it over.

In an interview, Jonathan Bailey who played the anxious gay groom Jamie, says that if the musical has been maintained in its old version, nobody would care about a bachelor playing around with women in Manhattan. By turning it to a story about woman hitting mid-30s, the story has made more sense and can relate to women’s experience as they hit 35 when all their friends remind them of the biological hour.

As someone who got married at the age of 40, I saw the play brilliant in a different way.  

The 1970 musical tells the story of a bachelor, Robert, who is afraid of commitment and searches among his married friends for an answer why he should get married and settle down. When the play first came out I 1970, women had been still struggling for equality in the workplace, public life and also private life. The idea that women might be living the life of a bachelor was not common. Art did not bring many examples of female characters going through similar struggles as the one Robert were experiencing. Society was still pressuring women, in spite of the second wave of feminism of the 50s and 60s, to become housewives. In the musical the female characters did not show the depth that males did.

In the contemporary treatment of gender swap, Bobby, a 35 years old woman whose friends are urging her to settle down while she can't find a reason to do so. She spends time with each couple and gets to see that marriage is not really all happy time with another person around all the time. Bobby tells her friends that she would like to commit and there are three men she is considering them as potential husbands. The three girls of the original musical have been turned to males in the contemporary Company: physically attractive flight attendant, the serious and committed who gets engaged to someone else, and the worldly New York’s lover.

In addition to Bobby, two couples have their characters swapped as wives take leading roles in their marriages, which was unthinkable of back in the early 1970s. Susan in the original play was southern belle, and Peter was Ivy league. In the new treatment, it is Peter who is ‘southern belle’, showing feminine traits while Susan looks more masculine.

The play takes inclusiveness and diversity beyond the mixed-race marriages to include gay relationships. The engaged couple become soon-to-be married gay couple Paul and Jamie.

In the night club scene, originally Joanne invites Robert to have an affair which leads to Robert’s realising that he needs to commit; in the contemporary play, Joanne offers Bobby a cigarette which she refuses. Joanne tells Bobby that she needs to be brave and embrace life, instead of just watching it. The scene ends with Bobby realising that she is ready to commit.

The play does not end with Bobby settling down. It ends with her knowing what she wants, wishes for it and the hope that her wishes come true, as she managed to blow out all her candles. 

Nadia

BBC Arabic Film Festival 2019

Finally there is distinguished presence of Iraqi films in a film festival. In the BBC Arabic Festival 2019, more than five productions (short features and documentaries) by Iraqi filmmakers entertained us today in the BBC festival, shedding light on a country in trauma, artists searching for platforms, and films articulate beauty amid ruins.

As an Iraqi, I was not only proud to see these films telling the story of where I came from, but I was also relieved to see Iraqi artists and filmmakers given enough space and receiving recognition for their works.

I could be wrong, but since leaving Iraq, I felt that Iraq had been excluded or its artists were not given the opportunity to participate in festivals addressing the Arab and Middle East art and cinema. It may not be intentional or that Iraqi artists did not promote films as Arab peers, but what I am certain of is that Iraqi literature, art and cinema does not often receive exposure equal to what other Arab countries, which went through relatively similar traumatic experiences.

But today I was happy. Short feature films about life in Baghdad, ISIS and the sex slavery business, documentaries about Yazidi fighter and artist who tried to create art in the aftermath of 2003, showed me today that Iraqi artists were reaching out and what they made was worth watching and is relevant to the overall picture of chaos and disorder in the region.

As happy and proud as I was with the participation of many Iraqi filmmaker, I found myself moved by Katia Jarjoura’s Only Silence, short film about a Syrian refugee in France. The film has simple storyline: a Syrian girl, Neda, was  in the process of claiming asylum in France, while the rest of her family, her mother and young brother, were still in Syria. Neda couldn’t enjoy life, though she tried to find her place in Paris, because she was worried about her mother and brother. The last two scenes in this 30-mins drama were powerful and resonate, maybe, with the story of many refugees who had to leave their home countries on their own, leaving parts of themselves back to the dangers of war. Neda was skyping with her family when the family house was attacked by masked men, who took the mother and the brother away, while Neda was watching. The scene ended with one of the masked men staring at the screen and Neda was frozen in front of the laptop. The screen went dark, then Neda was shown, sitting in the immigration office, broken. A voice told her that her case was accepted, ‘welcome to France’ it said, but Neda was not giving a reaction. She couldn’t even show that she cared anymore. What mattered to her had been gone, taken by war and ruin. The country, the family and the man she loved, all were lost.

In the Q & A following, a man noted the melancholic atmosphere of the films about refugees, rejecting what he deemed as lacking hope and ‘depressing’. In another film festival a lady had made the same criticism about and Iraqi film addressing the issue of exile and being refugee in a melancholic way. Before the directors came to answer the comment, most of the audience had released sounds of resentment towards such comment and approved Jarjoura’s response that where we came from was depressing and sad; that our countries had been lost to wars and we might not recover that even we lived in Paris.

On Women's Day

Here we go again on Women’s Day, misogynist posts, videos and messages are circulating on social media, pointing out where women fall inferior to men. ‘women can't drive’ memes and videos are everywhere; the cliché of famous chefs are men not women, scientific contributions are mostly done by men and not women and so on.

Browsing through these posts, which get average hundreds of shares, makes me feel that we are stuck in the 1950s when men lashed at women fighting for their right to join the public life. For years I thought the time had passed when we need to argue that we are equally capable and that we are equally smart.

Dear misogynist men out there, take out your hands out of your pants and look around you. Things have changed. Yes, women, left behind for thousands of years, have made it to the top. They are presidents, CEOs, scientists and mostly much better drivers in spite of what these funny videos show.

Instead of spending the day to bring women down and make her day a joke you laugh at with your buddies, who must share with you the same misogynistic grudge, take the day to educate yourself about what your mother had been through to raise you the person you are now. Educate yourself about what your sister, daughter or girl-friend has to go through on a daily basis to find her place in the world. Acknowledge the support, the kindness and love given to you by the women in your life. And end it with a wish that your little sister, daughter, niece will not have to suffer in her life because she is woman.

If you have no woman in your life at the moment, think of your female colleague and educate yourself about women’s struggle in the workplace. Be kind and supportive in non-creepy way. Simply, don't be the other jerk she has to deal with for the day.  

My husband is not a man of intellect; he basically hates reading and listening to the news. He has a kind heart but considering he had never been in serious relationship and came from a world teaching men to act superior to women, I found it necessary to teach him about misogyny and what does it entail for women. It started as a joke, but now he does not only know the word, but he also can tell when he is acting like a misogynist. He became more appreciative of his mother and sisters; he does not find demeaning to help around the house.

As for us women, we are not that great with each other either. It is really sad that we are not helping each other as it should be. We have been pushed aside for centuries, we are still abused at home and at work. Yet, instead of supporting each other, we turn against each.

Take the day, lady, and think why you are bitching about your colleague, why she is so annoying to you. Is it workplace competition or has become more of personal jealousy?

If you are in a place of your life where you have access to everything you need, think of the million others who do not. Think of the little girls and women around the world who still struggle to access the necessities of daily life. Use your voice and platform to support their struggles. Not because your personal battle has ended triumphantly for you, it has been the same for others. If you have made it to the other side, look behind you and see the millions who are still struggling to get there. If you can’t help, don’t be the obstacle.