Il dramma che anticipa la “Rivoluzione dei Gelsomini”: Yaḥyà Ya‘īš
(The play that foresees the “Jasmine Revolution”: Yaḥyà Ya‘īš)
in La rivista di Arablit, a. III, n. 6, dicembre 2013, pp. 49-60.
This article introduces Fāḍil al-Ǧa‘āybī’s Yaḥyà Ya‘īš (Yaḥyà Ya‘īš/Yaḥyà lives), considered by many as a forewarning of the “Arab Spring” which started with the 2010 Tunisian uprising. Fāḍil al-Ǧa‘āybī (Fadhel Jaïbi) is one of Tunisia’s most important directors. He and his wife, Ǧalīlah Bakkār, are among the pioneers of modern Tunisian theatre: they founded the “Familia Productions”, in 1993, and still view theatre as an essential tool for the awakening of consciences. Through Yaḥyà’s misadventures, Fāḍil al-Ǧa‘āybī represents and analyzes the last fifty years of Tunisian history in order to denounce errors and injustices of the past. Just like the main character’s future, Tunisia’s future is uncertain too: the nation has to take important decisions and is fully responsible for its own life.
