Nehardea Magazine

Journal of the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center
No.13, Summer 2001

JEWS OF IRAQ IN RECENT GENERATIONS

THE JEWISH THEATER IN BAGHDAD
Arie Elias

The summer of 1938 was an historical one for us. It was there that we laid the corner-stone for the theater in Baghdad. In an exceptional session, which took place at Yitshak Battat's residence, we discussed a very important matter - to find a play that could be acted on a stage during the summer vacation. As we already had male actors, there remained only a few "minor " details missing, such as the lack of female actors, the stage setting, electricians and a make-up technician (cosmetician).
We believed that all these could be found at the Shammash or Alliance schools, where, we knew, there were talented boys and girls who could help us and also take part in the play.

The play "The Desert" by
Yusuf Wahbi

It was decided to set up a small group. That left only the main mission: to find an appropriate play. It was also decided, at that same historical meeting, to collect from all the participants, the amount of 50 Fils. Now all we had to do was to select the play.
In that year we read all the plays we could find in the school library. Some had already been copied that night by those talented copiers among us:Albert Balboul and Yitzhak Battat. We soon discovered, however, that we either liked none of those plays or they were too difficult to produce. So, we continued searching for the right one.

While this was going on, we were surprised to find an announcement pinned to the notice board at our school, The Gharbiya Secondary School, that a play called "the desert " by Yusuf Wahbi was being produced. Aiming to participate in the play, we tried to join up but unfortunately, being Jewish we were rejected. Yitzhak Battat won a part, where he had to say only two words: "yes Master ". Since I was not accepted, I was not even allowed to attend rehearsals. Yitzhak Battat was given a look at the script but the uncomprehending stage-director asked: "Why do you need it for? Your part consists of saying the words 'yes Master' ten times. " Yitzhak retorted: "I just want to know when I have to say those words ". The stage-director consented and lent him the script, which was copied by Yitzhak and Albert throughout the night and handed back to the stage-director the next morning. Our team read and liked the script. We called and informed everyone of our intention to produce the play during the summer vacation. The appointed actors, whom I knew well were: Elias Ezer (A'yasha), Edward Salman, Sasson Bahari, Victor and Nissim Masha'l, Salim I'wan, Naim Bokazeiro and other 'nitwits' like us. While we waited impatiently for summer, copies of the script were made in clear Arabic script by our experts Yitzhak and Albert. >>>

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JEWS OF IRAQ IN RECENT GENERATIONS
THE JEWISH THEATER IN BAGHDAD Arie Elias
The summer of 1938 was an historical one for us. It was there that we laid the corner-stone for the theater in Baghdad. In an exceptional session, which took place at Yitshak Battat's residence, we discussed a very important matter - to find a play that could be acted on a stage during the summer vacation. As we already had male actors, there remained only a few "minor " details missing, such as the lack of female actors, the stage setting, electricians and a make-up technician (cosmetician). We believed that all these could be found at the Shammash or Alliance schools, where, we knew, there were talented boys and girls who could help us and also take part in the play. The play "The Desert" by Yusuf Wahbi It was decided to set up a small group. That left only the main mission: to find an appropriate play. It was also decided, at that same historical meeting, to collect from all the participants, the amount of 50 Fils. Now all we had to do was to select the play. In that year we read all the plays we could find in the school library. Some had already been copied that night by those talented copiers among us:Albert Balboul and Yitzhak Battat. We soon discovered, however, that we either liked none of those plays or they were too difficult to produce. So, we continued searching for the right one. While this was going on, we were surprised to find an announcement pinned to the notice board at our school, The Gharbiya Secondary School, that a play called "the desert " by Yusuf Wahbi was being produced. Aiming to participate in the play, we tried to join up but unfortunately, being Jewish we were rejected. Yitzhak Battat won a part, where he had to say only two words: "yes Master ". Since I was not accepted, I was not even allowed to attend rehearsals. Yitzhak Battat was given a look at the script but the uncomprehending stage-director asked: "Why do you need it for? Your part consists of saying the words 'yes Master' ten times. " Yitzhak retorted: "I just want to know when I have to say those words ". The stage-director consented and lent him the script, which was copied by Yitzhak and Albert throughout the night and handed back to the stage-director the next morning. Our team read and liked the script. We called and informed everyone of our intention to produce the play during the summer vacation. The appointed actors, whom I knew well were: Elias Ezer (A'yasha), Edward Salman, Sasson Bahari, Victor and Nissim Masha'l, Salim I'wan, Naim Bokazeiro and other 'nitwits' like us. While we waited impatiently for summer, copies of the script were made in clear Arabic script by our experts Yitzhak and Albert. >>>
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