The Political Theatre of Muhammed Al-Maghut

The Political Theatre of Mohammed Al-Maghut

This thesis is a study of the life and work of Muhammad Al-Maghut (1934-2006), a Syrian poet and playwright. He published his first collection of poems Sadness in the Moon Light in 1959 in Beirut. Upon his return to Damascus in 1961, he wrote his first play, The Hunchbacked Sparrow. His second poetry collection, A Room with Millions of Walls, was published in 1960. The Village of Tishreen was written in 1973, the first collaboration with the actor Doried Lahham with whom he also worked on Inside Out (1976), Cheers my Homeland (1979) and Windflower (1987). His last play, Outside the Flock, was produced in 1998. A prolific writer, Al-Maghut also wrote journalistic articles (published as I will Betray my Homeland, The Executioner of Flowers, East of Aden… West of God, and The Red Bedouin), two screenplays (The Borders, 1984; The Report, 1987), and authored three television series (The Night’s Tales, 1974; Where is the Mistake?, 1984; The Musk Valley, 1984).