|
Beauty and Love Following the refreshing approach to the study of Islamic literature recently suggested by Walter G. Andrews, we have been working on a scenario for the dramatization of Beauty and Love. Our greater purpose in dramatizing Beauty and Love is to make this mystical story accessible to modern audiences, who are to some degree estranged from mystical practice and thought. We are hoping to promote an innovative perspective on the study of Islamic culture and literature as well as to take a step for a mutual respect for differences and positive dialogue between Western and Islamic civilizations by laying foundations based on universally shared values. |
||
|
THE
PRODUCTION STAFF Special thanks to Alexander Knysh |
Şeyh Galip's Beauty and Love (Husn u Ask) represents a startling explosion of brilliant creative energy coming at the end (1783) of a centuries-old tradition of mystical narrative romances in rhymed couplets (mesnevi) in Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Turkish. This striking Ottoman poem hangs tantalizingly suspended between allegory and myth as it dramatizes and makes concrete the metaphors of the psychic journey toward mystical union through a quest that takes the hero (Love) and his companions through a terrifying landscape peopled by demons, monsters, witches, and a dangerous princess in order to unite him with his beloved Beauty. Conceived and produced by Özgen Felek with Walter G. Andrews, choreographed by Carolina Pahde Mallarino, and danced by her company from the University of Michigan to music from the much-acclaimed work of Münir Beken, this performance is an exciting experimental attempt to reveal the emotional core of Ottoman mystical literature to western audiences. |
Date: Directions to Date:
|
