The Syrian playwright who challenged the regime

An experimental play staged in Damascus in 1971 undermined official Syrian propaganda. Simply by stating that the Arab nations had been defeated by Israel during the Six Day War its author, Sadallah Wannous, identified himself as an opposition figure. Zak Brophy spoke to his widow, Faizah Shawish, about the play and its place in Syrian theatre.

Photo: Sadallah Wannous with his parents and daughter in 1988. With the permission of the Wannous family.