Nehardea Magazine

Journal of the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center
No.14, Autumn 2003

JEWS OF IRAQ IN RECENT GENERATIONS

THE JEWISH THEATRE IN BAGHDAD*

Yitzhak Battat

In 1946 when I visited the library of the Academy of Theatrical Arts as a drama student, I was surprised to find among the plays of Shakespeare, Moliere and Ahmed Shawqi, the play entitled "Queen Esther" written by the French playwright Jean Racine and translated into Arabic by a Christian priest from Beirut.

The actors of the Jewish Theatre in Baghdad, 1946

The play tells the story of Iranian Jews and King Xerox, who decided to exile Queen Vashti as a punishment for her disobedience.

The play depicts all the historical characters of the "Esther Scroll", such as Mordechai the Jew, Queen Esther, the evil Haman and his ten sons. I was very excited when I leafed through the play and I started to mumble to myself: if I only could present this play on stage, it would be a great success, for the sake of Babylonian Jews in Baghdad and for me as well. It would be quite a challenge.

I took the book away with me and immediately started to copy it, just as I did in 1938 when I copied a play by the name of the "Desert". It took me all night to do so (bear in mind that in those days, the photocopying machine had yet to be born).

Very early next morning, I invited my three best friends: Aryeh Elias, Albert Bilboul and Yehezkel Joury. All four of us read the play with great concentration, and decided to add a small paragraph of our own on the opening day of the first act. This part tells how Xerox chose Esther from among other candidates. The props were just right: King Xerox sitting on his throne at center stage, surrounded by his ministers and slaves. The master of ceremonies, the evil Haman calling on all the princesses who came from all corners of the earth to present themselves before the King until one of them is chosen to wear the crown of the Queen. The first was a beautiful princess from Turkey. She was directed to dance to the tunes of Turkish music. Her performance did not please the king. She was followed by a beauty from the lands of the elephants, India. She, too, danced to the tunes of Indian music, moving her slender body like a cobra. But the king indicated his disapproval of her, too.

A Romanian princess was then called on to perform before the King, but met with the same disapproval by the King. Just when the people in the palace were almost on the verge of despair, the Chamberlain announced another young woman, who was willing to enter the contest but refused to divulge her nationality. She, too, was beautiful, but unlike the former contestants, she did not open her performance with a dance, but approached the throne respectfully and with great distinction. The King stared at her and began to twirl his moustache. He then stood up and went to her asking for her name. "Esther, your Majesty" she answered and curtsied. The king immediately picked up the Queen's crown and laid it on her head, and thus crowned her Queen of his palace.

The play was almost ready to be performed when questions began to be asked: Who will be the actors? Which theatre? Who will pay rent for the theatre, the props and printing of tickets? And so on.

In the same year 1946, I taught at the "Nouriel" school, belonging to the Jewish Community in Baghdad. In addition to tutoring, I was in charge of the drama classes and acting director for all plays in all Jewish schools in Baghdad. So I approached Mr. Larido, the Head Master of the "Alliance" school for boys and suggested that all male characters be played by my pupils and asked that all female characters be played by girls from the "Alliance" school for girls, which was run by his wife. To my dismay, he rejected my offer explaining: "you know M. Yitzhak, no parents will ever allow their daughters to appear on the same stage with the boys. I suggest that you speak with my wife, (the Headmistress of the Alliance school for girls) and suggest that all characters in the play, male and female, be performed by her school girls".

"But how"? I asked, "would girls play the part of King Xerox, Mordechai and Haman?"

He answered that the play was written by the French play writer Jean Racine specifically for the Alliance School for girls in Paris. And so, lacking any other choice, it was agreed upon.

We met with the schoolgirls and chose the actresses: Margaret Rajwan, a robust young lady to play King Xerox; Evelyn Joury, a delicate and beautiful young lady to play the role of Esther. Louise Yehezkel was chosen to play the role of Zarash and Bertha Levy for the role of Mordechai. The rest of roles were given to Daisy Rahamim, Dina Ezra, Evelyn Murad, Violet Sawdayee, Ida Shemtov, Habbou Asher, Yvone Khalastchi, Khatoun Somekh and Doris Aslan. Then, a problem cropped up: none of the girls agreed to play the wicked Haman. The day was saved when Bertha Cohen stood up and announced: "I will play Haman". It should be pointed out that on the morrow, all her school mates called her "Hamana" and her mother gave me quite a piece of her mind.

In those days, it was compulsory to submit copies of the play to the Ministry of Education, the police department and the Baghdad municipality, so that all could satisfy themselves that the play contained no subversive ideas or incitement to insurrection against the royal regime and the government. We were anxious lest the authorities would not allow us to stage the play, due to the Jewish motif of the "Esther Scroll" and the revolt of Mordechai against the evil Haman, who was plotting to wipe out the Israeli people and take away their assets, in addition to the frequent mention of the word "Israel" in the play. But we were pleasantly surprised to receive the authorities' acceptance of the complete text stamped "no objection to stage". We started rehearsing. The problem of finding a theater was solved when "the society to assist impoverished girls to marry" came to the rescue. They rented the "Roxy" Theater, adjacent to the "Roxy" Cinema House, which was owned by the Sawdayee family in Baghdad. The theater contained over a thousand seats and several sprawling stalls. During the last rehearsal, I sat in the back row of the stalls and requested the actresses to raise their voices as best as they could. Remember, in those days no amplifiers or loudspeakers had been installed in theaters. The wardrobes were sewn together in the Society's atelier. Queen Esther wore a snow-white wedding dress covered with pearls. The king carried a golden scepter and sat on a golden throne.

The curtain rose on Thursday 14.3.1946 at 8:00 in the evening to the accompaniment of the sound of royal trumpets. The theater was packed and the public received the actresses, pupils of the "Laura Kadoury" School, with enthusiastic applause. The success of the play surpassed all expectations. In fact, on 24.3.1946, we had to play an encore for the benefit of those who could not get tickets for the first performance.

A year later, in 1947, we were asked for a repeat performance. I immediately contacted the headmistress and told her about the request, but she answered that she could not do that due to the fact that all the former actresses had graduated and left the school. So, we had to go through the whole process again, searching for new players. For the premiere, which took place at "El Rashid Club", I worked all night with my friend Albert Elias to bring the premiere to success.

News of its success reached the Jews in Basra, who asked me to direct the play there. Unlike the Baghdadi Jews, those in Basra consented to a mixed performance of boys and girls on the same stage. It was agreed that I would make a weekly trip to Basra by train to direct the play.

Rehearsals lasted several weeks. A week before the premiere (which was set to take place on 24.3.1948) one of the actors, Yehezkel Abraham (Nahman) informed me that he could not possibly play the role of the evil Haman, since he was a school teacher and if his pupils watch the play, they will be calling him Haman in class and make fun of him. He had no objection to play the role of King Xerox, as the actor who was supposed to play Xerox, had resigned. When I asked him, "and who will play Haman?", he without hesitation said: "You. You are familiar with all the characters in the play. You can play Haman". Having no other alternative, I agreed to play Haman. However, my adventures did not come to an end. In the second act, when I stood on stage and said to one of the king's ministers: "I have a command from the king stating: in ten days time we will kill all the Jews and take over all their possessions, but I cannot agree to wait another ten days..." It seems that one of the spectators confused me for the authentic Haman. He stood up, cursing me and said, "can't you be patient enough to wait another ten days?"

The next day all the participants went out for a picnic at the Shat-Al-Arab shore. It was a pleasant outing. However, I was surprised to hear all those present start singing patriotic songs about Eretz Yisrael. Only then was I told that all the actors were members of the Zionist Underground Movement in Basra.

This event made me happy and filled me with the satisfaction that, somehow, I served the Homeland.

* A second article. See Nehardea No. 13.

Next Article

Table of Contents

JEWS OF IRAQ IN RECENT GENERATIONS
THE JEWISH THEATRE IN BAGHDAD* Yitzhak Battat
In 1946 when I visited the library of the Academy of Theatrical Arts as a drama student, I was surprised to find among the plays of Shakespeare, Moliere and Ahmed Shawqi, the play entitled "Queen Esther" written by the French playwright Jean Racine and translated into Arabic by a Christian priest from Beirut. The actors of the Jewish Theatre in Baghdad, 1946 The play tells the story of Iranian Jews and King Xerox, who decided to exile Queen Vashti as a punishment for her disobedience. The play depicts all the historical characters of the "Esther Scroll", such as Mordechai the Jew, Queen Esther, the evil Haman and his ten sons. I was very excited when I leafed through the play and I started to mumble to myself: if I only could present this play on stage, it would be a great success, for the sake of Babylonian Jews in Baghdad and for me as well. It would be quite a challenge. I took the book away with me and immediately started to copy it, just as I did in 1938 when I copied a play by the name of the "Desert". It took me all night to do so (bear in mind that in those days, the photocopying machine had yet to be born). Very early next morning, I invited my three best friends: Aryeh Elias, Albert Bilboul and Yehezkel Joury. All four of us read the play with great concentration, and decided to add a small paragraph of our own on the opening day of the first act. This part tells how Xerox chose Esther from among other candidates. The props were just right: King Xerox sitting on his throne at center stage, surrounded by his ministers and slaves. The master of ceremonies, the evil Haman calling on all the princesses who came from all corners of the earth to present themselves before the King until one of them is chosen to wear the crown of the Queen. The first was a beautiful princess from Turkey. She was directed to dance to the tunes of Turkish music. Her performance did not please the king. She was followed by a beauty from the lands of the elephants, India. She, too, danced to the tunes of Indian music, moving her slender body like a cobra. But the king indicated his disapproval of her, too. A Romanian princess was then called on to perform before the King, but met with the same disapproval by the King. Just when the people in the palace were almost on the verge of despair, the Chamberlain announced another young woman, who was willing to enter the contest but refused to divulge her nationality. She, too, was beautiful, but unlike the former contestants, she did not open her performance with a dance, but approached the throne respectfully and with great distinction. The King stared at her and began to twirl his moustache. He then stood up and went to her asking for her name. "Esther, your Majesty" she answered and curtsied. The king immediately picked up the Queen's crown and laid it on her head, and thus crowned her Queen of his palace. The play was almost ready to be performed when questions began to be asked: Who will be the actors? Which theatre? Who will pay rent for the theatre, the props and printing of tickets? And so on. In the same year 1946, I taught at the "Nouriel" school, belonging to the Jewish Community in Baghdad. In addition to tutoring, I was in charge of the drama classes and acting director for all plays in all Jewish schools in Baghdad. So I approached Mr. Larido, the Head Master of the "Alliance" school for boys and suggested that all male characters be played by my pupils and asked that all female characters be played by girls from the "Alliance" school for girls, which was run by his wife. To my dismay, he rejected my offer explaining: "you know M. Yitzhak, no parents will ever allow their daughters to appear on the same stage with the boys. I suggest that you speak with my wife, (the Headmistress of the Alliance school for girls) and suggest that all characters in the play, male and female, be performed by her school girls". "But how"? I asked, "would girls play the part of King Xerox, Mordechai and Haman?" He answered that the play was written by the French play writer Jean Racine specifically for the Alliance School for girls in Paris. And so, lacking any other choice, it was agreed upon. We met with the schoolgirls and chose the actresses: Margaret Rajwan, a robust young lady to play King Xerox; Evelyn Joury, a delicate and beautiful young lady to play the role of Esther. Louise Yehezkel was chosen to play the role of Zarash and Bertha Levy for the role of Mordechai. The rest of roles were given to Daisy Rahamim, Dina Ezra, Evelyn Murad, Violet Sawdayee, Ida Shemtov, Habbou Asher, Yvone Khalastchi, Khatoun Somekh and Doris Aslan. Then, a problem cropped up: none of the girls agreed to play the wicked Haman. The day was saved when Bertha Cohen stood up and announced: "I will play Haman". It should be pointed out that on the morrow, all her school mates called her "Hamana" and her mother gave me quite a piece of her mind. In those days, it was compulsory to submit copies of the play to the Ministry of Education, the police department and the Baghdad municipality, so that all could satisfy themselves that the play contained no subversive ideas or incitement to insurrection against the royal regime and the government. We were anxious lest the authorities would not allow us to stage the play, due to the Jewish motif of the "Esther Scroll" and the revolt of Mordechai against the evil Haman, who was plotting to wipe out the Israeli people and take away their assets, in addition to the frequent mention of the word "Israel" in the play. But we were pleasantly surprised to receive the authorities' acceptance of the complete text stamped "no objection to stage". We started rehearsing. The problem of finding a theater was solved when "the society to assist impoverished girls to marry" came to the rescue. They rented the "Roxy" Theater, adjacent to the "Roxy" Cinema House, which was owned by the Sawdayee family in Baghdad. The theater contained over a thousand seats and several sprawling stalls. During the last rehearsal, I sat in the back row of the stalls and requested the actresses to raise their voices as best as they could. Remember, in those days no amplifiers or loudspeakers had been installed in theaters. The wardrobes were sewn together in the Society's atelier. Queen Esther wore a snow-white wedding dress covered with pearls. The king carried a golden scepter and sat on a golden throne. The curtain rose on Thursday 14.3.1946 at 8:00 in the evening to the accompaniment of the sound of royal trumpets. The theater was packed and the public received the actresses, pupils of the "Laura Kadoury" School, with enthusiastic applause. The success of the play surpassed all expectations. In fact, on 24.3.1946, we had to play an encore for the benefit of those who could not get tickets for the first performance. A year later, in 1947, we were asked for a repeat performance. I immediately contacted the headmistress and told her about the request, but she answered that she could not do that due to the fact that all the former actresses had graduated and left the school. So, we had to go through the whole process again, searching for new players. For the premiere, which took place at "El Rashid Club", I worked all night with my friend Albert Elias to bring the premiere to success. News of its success reached the Jews in Basra, who asked me to direct the play there. Unlike the Baghdadi Jews, those in Basra consented to a mixed performance of boys and girls on the same stage. It was agreed that I would make a weekly trip to Basra by train to direct the play. Rehearsals lasted several weeks. A week before the premiere (which was set to take place on 24.3.1948) one of the actors, Yehezkel Abraham (Nahman) informed me that he could not possibly play the role of the evil Haman, since he was a school teacher and if his pupils watch the play, they will be calling him Haman in class and make fun of him. He had no objection to play the role of King Xerox, as the actor who was supposed to play Xerox, had resigned. When I asked him, "and who will play Haman?", he without hesitation said: "You. You are familiar with all the characters in the play. You can play Haman". Having no other alternative, I agreed to play Haman. However, my adventures did not come to an end. In the second act, when I stood on stage and said to one of the king's ministers: "I have a command from the king stating: in ten days time we will kill all the Jews and take over all their possessions, but I cannot agree to wait another ten days..." It seems that one of the spectators confused me for the authentic Haman. He stood up, cursing me and said, "can't you be patient enough to wait another ten days?" The next day all the participants went out for a picnic at the Shat-Al-Arab shore. It was a pleasant outing. However, I was surprised to hear all those present start singing patriotic songs about Eretz Yisrael. Only then was I told that all the actors were members of the Zionist Underground Movement in Basra. This event made me happy and filled me with the satisfaction that, somehow, I served the Homeland. * A second article. See Nehardea No. 13.
	Next Article	Table of Contents