Experimentation in Algerian theater: paths and transformation

Experimentation in theater is not tied to a specific period or influenced by a particular theatrical movement. Experimentation is not confined to a school of thought; rather, it is a continuous movement accompanying theater. The history of theater is the history of experimentation. While Aristotelian drama imposed itself on theater at various stages, its authority faded with the emergence of a group of playwrights attempting to transcend the Aristotelian model. The end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century mark a turning point for theater, transitioning into the realm of experimentation.

Thus, this chapter aims to explore the foundational and authentic beginnings of Algerian theater through its historical trajectory, focusing on the key factors that influenced the theatrical experience in Algeria during a period that could be described as critical, given the heavy impact of colonial experience on all areas, including the cultural sphere, which affected the cultural specificity and identity of the Algerian people.

Experimentation in theater is not tied to any specific movement or particular theatrical schools. It can be said that experimentation has accompanied theater and continues to do so, as creativity is never confined to a particular ideology or school of thought. Innovation and dynamism are considered traits of the creator who rejects stagnation and rigidity.

• 1-    Concept of Experimentation: The origin of the term "experimentation" comes from the Latin word Experimentum , which means a rehearsal or attempt. It is certain that this term was not related to theater during ancient Roman times. However, this does not imply that the Romans did not search for new literary and theatrical forms or did not find diverse creative methods, which were required by public life.(Barbara, 1999, p. 8)

The early beginnings of experimentation in drama and theater can be traced back to Aeschylus with his discovery of the second actor. We can also mention what Sophocles did with the discovery of the third actor, where songs emerged interwoven with dialogue, shaping the theatrical world of tragedy and comedy. This led to the early appearance of actors who, in their dialogues, portrayed the most complex aspects of the essence of "humanity in its confrontation with gods and myths..(Barbara, 1999, p. 13).

Experimentation emerged at the end of the 19th century, and the concept was formed at the beginning of the 20th century. It became associated with the concept of modernity (La modernité),

Sci. Educ. Innov. Context Mod. Probl. P-ISSN: 2790-0169 E-ISSN: 2790-0177 Issue 2, Vol. 8, 2025, IMCRA with its first appearance closely linked to the arts, particularly painting and sculpture, after some aesthetic schools that imposed fixed rules had disappeared.

Thus, experimentation has evolved since its foundational beginnings within various frameworks, adopting diverse names that encompassed both the text and the performance. However, the goal remained the same: to develop the theatrical process through different stages. This movement coincided with the emergence of directing as an independent function, a development attributed to the director who sought to advance theater beyond established norms and traditions. In light of this dynamism, experimental theater was considered the opposite of traditional theater, and the term often overlapped with avant-garde theater, as both terms were used with similar meanings in certain contexts.

While experimentation in theater initially encompassed both the text and the performance, the following stage, especially in the 1960s and 1970s, marked a period of openness to other art forms and communication with them, giving experimentation an artistic and aesthetic direction.

Thus, experimentation took many different paths, encompassing both the text and the performance, in addition to its interaction with other arts, especially with the development of the human sciences, which opened up wide possibilities for the convergence of disciplines. Accordingly, some concepts related to experimentation in art in general, and theater in particular, can be proposed.

As for experimentation in art, it is "the artist's reflection on his work from an angle different from the usual, exploring unknown horizons that no one has known before. Experimentation involves a critical process that implicitly challenges the status quo, and this is a critique without prior invention."(Aziz, 2023, p. 24). As for experimentation in theater, it was first used in 1894, when the newspaper Moniteur Universel on March 5th of that year described Antoine's Théâtre Libre as a "theater that aims, in the future, to become an experimental theater."(Barbara, p. 15)

It can be said that the term closest to the concept of experimentation is "novelty," which is considered an innovation of new values. These values are established based on selective criteria that have been tested before. Thus, we can propose two stages that are subject to testing before experimentation: The first stage is based on a theoretical concept, meaning the formulation of hypotheses and confirming their validity in order to obtain results. The second stage represents the actual application of these results on the theater stage.(Barbara, p. 16)

Experimentation has undergone developments that accompanied theater since its foundational beginnings, taking on different names that encompassed both the text and the performance. The driving force behind this was the evolution of theater's dynamism, moving away

Sci. Educ. Innov. Context Mod. Probl. P-ISSN: 2790-0169 E-ISSN: 2790-0177 Issue 2, Vol. 8, 2025, IMCRA from the conventional and rigid elements that made up early theater stages, leading to what became known as experimental theater.

While early theatrical experimentation focused on form, the new shift in experimentation occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, which was reflected in the interaction of theater with other arts and in an attempt to create a new relationship with the audience. This gave theater a more aesthetic and artistic direction.

We can outline some of the frameworks within which theater has evolved, including:

Free Theater: This is a pioneering experience with the French director André Antoine ( A. Antoine ), aimed at surpassing the traditional norms in theatrical conventions. It spread to many countries at the beginning of the 19th century in Europe, America, and Japan.

The Studio: This format emerged within official theater companies or acting schools. One of the most famous is the Art Studio founded by Constantin, with the goal of research and experimentation.

The Theater Laboratory: A concept introduced by the French duo Édouard Autant and his wife Louise Lara ( E. Autant, L. Lara ), who established the Art Laboratory in France. Later, it was developed further by the Polish Jerzy Grotowski, who created a laboratory in Bydgoszcz.

The Workshop: A type of gathering within a closed framework, where the work takes on an experimental nature, without necessarily leading to a theatrical performance. Antoine's workshop serves as a model for this.

The Work Session: An experimental framework usually organized under the supervision of academies or global theatrical institutions, in which an actor or director shares their experience with a group of theater enthusiasts.

After discussing the concept of experimentation and the historical phases it has gone through, we now move on to another aspect: the specificity of experimentation in theater. What are the characteristics of experimental theater?

• 2-    Characteristics of Experimental Theater

Experimentation has encompassed all elements of theater:

Reconsidering the Role of the Actor: This experimental feature attempts to reconsider the role of the playwright. The director may control as they wish, or reduce the actor’s presence on stage. However, this approach later faced a reaction, leading to the actor's return as the primary intermediary in the process of communication with the audience, becoming the essential element in theatrical composition.

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Reconsidering the Shape of the Space: This involves moving away from traditional architectural spaces to new locations that attract a different type of audience. This rethinking of theatrical space led to what is called scenography , a term solidified by architects such as German engineer Walter Gropius.

Attempting to Establish a New Relationship with the Audience: This led to the creation of new theatrical movements, such as the Théâtre du Soleil and environmental theater .

Utilizing and Incorporating Advanced Technologies in Theater:This especially applies to lighting and sound, which are used in a dramatic fashion, leading to theatrical performances that rely on cinema and slide technologies.

Reconsidering the Role of the Text: The text, which was once merely an element in theatrical writing, became a central focus. One of the examples of this is Theater of the Absurd , which developed within the avant-garde theater movement. A prime example of this is the Absurd Theater , which evolved within the avant-garde theater trend that was widespread in Europe during the 1950s. The first play, Waiting for Godot , had a profound impact on Western society and garnered significant attention from critics and the press. The so-called avant-garde theater became popular among playwrights such as Jean Cocteau and Paul Claudel , in addition to existentialist philosophers of theater like Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus . For these thinkers, avant-garde theater was rooted in their views on the world and was not confined to theatrical forms or the language of dramatic expression.(Sami, 1977, p. 10)

What distinguishes Theater of the Absurd is that it did not form a homogeneous intellectual movement, which led to it taking on different and diverse forms, including:

Nihilistic Absurdism: In this form, there is a lack of any interpretive vision of the world in both the text and the performance. One example of this is Samuel Beckett's theater.

Satirical Absurdism: This form expresses itself through the plot and characters. An example of this is Arabel's Theater .

The Avant-garde Theater is considered a model for the phenomenon of experimentation in theater. It refers to any work or literary/artistic movement that breaks through established and conventional norms, paving the way for new theories.

The French director André Antoine ( A. Antoine ) used the term "avant-garde" to describe theatrical works written by young, unknown playwrights. The French poet Guillaume Apollinaire ( G. Apollinaire ) also used the term in his journalistic articles to refer to marginal movements like Futurism, which also opposed commercial theater and boulevard theater. Since 1920, the term "avant-garde" has been used in critical language to denote experimental movements in general.

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We can include within the avant-garde theater movement the Theater of the Absurd, which is still referred to today as the "Theater of the Avant-Garde of the 1950s," as it represented a radical shift in the concept of experimentation in theater. The avant-garde theater movement spread across various stages, including in England, where experimental performances were presented on the margins of the Edinburgh Festival. In Japan, the term "underground theater" was used to describe the movement of small theaters that emerged during the 1960s, with the goal of creating theater outside the framework of official institutions and benefiting from .

global theatrical trends. Avant-garde theater is an evolving structure of a continuous stage that appears in changing forms and patterns. In this sense, it represents a source of inspiration for theater in its ongoing human and civilizational journey, a journey whose chain of links never breaks.(Barbara, 1999, p. 23)

Thus, avant-garde theater is considered one of the experimental models that have accompanied theater and continue to do so, especially since experimentation is not confined to a specific school or intellectual movement that restricts and undermines the experimental inclination. It is necessary to transcend the prevailing norms.

If the Theater of the Absurd is framed within avant-garde theater in the Western world, can we find an absurd theater that emerged among the Arabs? The word "absurd" is sometimes used, and "the illogical" at other times in the Arabic language, referring to the "Theater of the Absurd movement." Meanwhile, the term "the illogical" reflects the viewer's stance and the inability to reconcile what they see with what is happening in reality.

The Theater of the Absurd has sparked a debate in Arab literary circles between acceptance and rejection, due to historical reasons related to its Western origins on one hand, and the unique circumstances of Arab countries on the other. It is well known that Egypt has always been a pioneer in terms of being influenced by and translating Western literary works, with the Egyptian Theater magazine being the first to translate the Theater of the Absurd. However, some directors have managed to adapt the translation in a way that aligns with Arab specificity.

Although the translation of Western Theater of the Absurd exists, some theater practitioners argue that this theatrical form has its roots in Arab culture, deeply embedded in the stories of the Arabian Nights, folk songs, and popular tales, as expressed by "Tawfiq al-Hakim," who referred to it as the illogical. Perhaps, through his reading of the Theater of the Absurd, Tawfiq al-Hakim may have confused the marvelous with the strange, as "Marie Elias" put it.

We come to another experience that shaped the course of theater, as it is considered one of the pioneering models in stages that remain a source of inspiration for theater practitioners. It is the reference to folk heritage, including folklore, as one of the sources that played a pivotal role in

Sci. Educ. Innov. Context Mod. Probl. P-ISSN: 2790-0169 E-ISSN: 2790-0177 Issue 2, Vol. 8, 2025, IMCRA encouraging creators to explore new forms. We can point to some experiences where folklore played a role in the adventure of experimentation. For example, Wojciech Bogusławski was able to make the Polish people the heroes in his plays, and we can also refer to Antoni Smuglewicz, who depicted rural village scenes on stage. This period also saw the emergence of musical theater inspired by folk heritage, which expressed the frameworks of popular culture.(Barbara, 1999, p. 48)

Thus, experimentation was able to bring about radical changes that affected elements of theater, such as the form of the theatrical performance and its content, including the revival and development of traditional theater. "Recent experiments have stirred the stagnant surface of theater and have broken through boundaries that once represented particularities that could not be surpassed, allowing theater to communicate with other arts such as visual arts, architecture, music, ballet, and pantomime.(Barbara, p. 23)

This brief overview focused on the particularities of experimentation that have affected elements of Western theater. But what about the dynamics of Arab theater? What are its manifestations? Has Arab theater known the dynamics of experimentation? What are the contents of this experimentation, and has the experimental movement in Western theater had an influence on it?

It goes without saying that modern Arab theater originated through Egyptian theater, which itself emerged during the era of Napoleon Bonaparte, at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. The French campaign in Egypt was accompanied by two major musicians who entertained the soldiers: "Rigel and Philot.(Sidi Ali, 2016, p. 13)" Scientific missions also played an active role in revitalizing the cultural movement in Egypt after the departure of the French campaign, including the theater movement. These missions influenced Egyptian theater, and it is noted that plays from that period were performed in Arabic, such as plays by "Corneille, Molière, Shakespeare, and Victor Hugo."(Ahmed, 1970, p. 21)

On the other hand, in the Arab world, Maroun al-Naqqash emerges as another key figure who played an active role in the dynamics of Arab theater. He traveled to Italy, where he was influenced by its theaters, leading to the performance of the play "The Miser" by his friends. Another example is the performance of the play "Harun al-Rashid," known as "Abu Hassan the Fool."(Sidi Ali, 2016, p. 21)

As a note, we are not aiming here to provide an exhaustive history of theater in the Arab world and its historical evolution; rather, this serves as a simple introduction to the world of experimentation, since the historical origins have been addressed in many studies. What concerns us is the experimentation in Algerian theater, which is the focus and central theme of this research.

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Thus, the Arab world embraced the concept of experimentation, which has become a characteristic of the performances by young directors who dealt with theater by breaking away from the conventional, especially after the establishment of the Cairo Experimental Theater Festival.

The experimentation in Arab theater was likely a result of the influence of the experimental stages witnessed by Western theater, which led to a reflection of this on traditional forms by revolting against the prevailing and conventional. As a result, Arab theater became a space that embraced global experiments.

While this influence from Western experimental theater is evident, it raises questions about the reality of Arab society, including: What is the impact of the political, social, and economic realities of the Arab world on the various experimental stages witnessed by Arab theater? Do Western theatrical changes only affect the Arab theatrical experience?

It is noticeable in Arab theater that what can be termed "experimentation" emerged, carrying the specificity of this society, which had a unique structure. In the 1960s, experimental attempts were made by Egyptian writers, leading to the emergence of activities like pocket theater, world theater, the theater of a hundred seats, coffeehouse theater, and farmers' theater. These efforts sought to move beyond the works of major authors like Tawfiq al-Hakim, striving for new forms that would express the uniqueness of Arab societies. These forms were inspired by folk theatrical traditions and the arts of spectacle known in Arab society before cultural exchange with Western civilization.(Ben Haniche, 2019-2020, pp. 139-140)

Although experimentation in Arab theater was influenced by the theatrical experience in the West, and by the cultural exchange through different mediums, this does not mean that experimentation in Arab theater took a Western direction. On the contrary, the local Arab environment had its clear influence, especially in relation to popular heritage.

One example of this can be seen in the plays of "Salim al-Naqqash," where we can sense the historical and folk character. Similarly, the works of al-Qabbani, who arrived in Egypt in 1884, drew their themes from popular literature, accompanied by singing, and were closely linked to the spirit of folk storytelling. Subsequently, the use of heritage continued, drawing from sources such as the stories of "One Thousand and One Nights" and folk tales, including "Anis al-Jalis," "Nafh al-Raba," "Antarah," "The Ungrateful," "Manliness and Loyalty," and "The Conquest of Andalusia..."(Ahmed, 1970, p. 122)

The drive to establish a foundation for Arab theater was motivated by several factors, including the call to revive Arab heritage in general, particularly the folk heritage that existed in

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Arab life before the emergence of theater. On the other hand, there was the aim of crafting an authentic Arab theater.(Sidi Ali, 2017, p. 30)

The Arab theatrical movement focused on issues of foundation, rooting, and the search for identity in a serious attempt to free Arab theater from what they considered its dependence on Western theater, relying on techniques with distinctive Arab characteristics. This is clearly evident in the critical analysis of Arab theater by Hassan al-Munayi, who thoroughly examines the subject. "Tawfiq al-Hakim, who embraced imitation, Yusuf Idris, who adopted the phenomenon of the samer, and at-Tayyib Sadiqi, who embraced forms of popular spectacle..."(Younes, 2006, p. 19)

The discussion about Arab specificity leads us to raise a question with its own semantic dimensions: Did the foundation of Arab theater result in the Arab experience's abandonment of Western theatrical techniques?

Thus, we can present the sources of Arab theater within the following stages:

In the first stage, the Arabs resorted to composing stories and plays and performing them, attempting to create roles and accompanying songs on their own.

As for the second stage, it involved translation. Some works were performed in their original text, while others were modified in terms of the subject matter. Examples of this include Molière's The Imaginary Invalid , Corneille's Le Cid , and Shakespeare's Othello .

In the third stage, the trend in playwriting was diverse, with a predominance of national and historical themes.

Therefore, it can be said that Arab theater in the Mashreq drew its subject matter from various sources, including the local source, which was reflected in original compositions. Translation also played a significant role in influencing Arab theater due to the French colonial presence in Arab countries such as Egypt and Syria. The scientific missions to these countries and the influence of their theaters had a profound impact. However, this translation had both positive and negative repercussions on Arab society, as it preserved the original text in some represented works, while in other cases, the subject matter was modified to cater to the Arab audience’s tastes.

If experimentation in Arab theater was influenced by two factors—the external factor, which was the influence of Western experience, and the internal factor, which adhered to the local Arab specificity—what about experimentation in Algerian theater? What were the influences that shaped the experimental path across its various stages?

• 3-    Experimentation in Algerian Theater – Beginnings and Foundation

Algeria is not exempt from the emergence of the theatrical movement; like other human societies that have known the art of theater, its initial establishment is believed to date back to the

Sci. Educ. Innov. Context Mod. Probl. P-ISSN: 2790-0169 E-ISSN: 2790-0177 Issue 2, Vol. 8, 2025, IMCRA first half of the last century, during the period of the shadow theater’s appearance, as well as the emergence of art forms that are closer to theatrical representation, such as qarqouz and the circle theater.

The emergence of Algerian theater took place during a period when Algeria was under French colonial control, which imposed a siege on all areas, including the cultural sector. The colonizers tried to erase everything related to Algerian identity and culture, especially since culture was the second weapon in the resistance and liberation struggle.

The theater was perhaps one of the cultural tools used for mass mobilization toward resistance and for understanding colonial politics. The foundation of this art was influenced by the conditions Algeria was living through, which affirms the authenticity of this art and its propositions, reflecting the aspirations of the Algerian people. Bokrouh considered that Algerian theater drew its revolution from the circumstances Algeria endured during the colonial period, citing the play Jouha , which was performed by Ali Sellali, known as Alalou, and was the first play in Modern Standard Arabic.(Boukrouh, January 11, 2025)

Conclusion

This article approached Algerian theater through its paths and transformations, attempting to explore the different stages it went through during its foundational periods, moving between rooting and experimentation. On one hand, the focus was on heritage as the central element of theatrical texts, while on the other hand, there was the influence of global theater, particularly the Brechtian model. However, the reliance on local heritage remains a constant feature in Algerian theatrical experimentation to this day, as demonstrated by the experiences of figures like Abdel Rahman Khaki and Alalou, and also by contemporary playwrights like Djellaji, who considers the return to heritage and history a priority, even after the generic shift seen in the concept of al-masradiyya (storytelling), which is considered a qualitative experiment in the field of theatrical experimentation.