Jalal Khoury casts doubt on the role of Mt. Lebanon St.

BEIRUT - The Monot Theater in Ashrafieh hosted the new cast of the famous director Jalal Khoury's Hindiye play in February.

The play is based on the life of Hindiye Ajaimi, a figure who was born in Aleppo in 1720 and died in Dlebta, Kesrouan in 1798.

Hindiye was an 18th century mystic figure who supposedly built the Maronite Patriarch seat of Bkerke before becoming, due to her ecstatic visions, stigmata and miracles, the subject of political and theological controversies and conflicts undertaking different religious missions in Mount Lebanon.

Hindiye founded her own religious order when she came from Aleppo to mount Lebanon in the 18th century.

Her new sect became popular and many believers soon followed her. Hindiye's influence dragged her into a conflict with the local leaders including emirs and religious missionaries in Mount Lebanon. She was later accused of causing the death of one of her order's nuns.

At that point the Vatican ordered her arrest and the banning of her community. Hindiye was eventually tortured and jailed until her death in Dlebta in Kesrouan in 1798.

Khoury's play attartacted much success during its first auditions in 2000 at the Mar Elias Theater in Antelias.

The new cast, however, aims at correlating the historical facts with the mystical aspects of the life of "god's madwoman" through the usage of distinguished music, lighting, singing and choreography.

The paly's storyteller, played by Rifaat Tarabay, puts the narration in its historical context.

Despite Tarabay's hisotrical background, the story remains unclear because of an intended ambiguity on which the director stresses.

Despite the fact that the play has profound political similes, the director seemed little interested in provoking a political debate about the influence of the clergy and the catholic religious establishment on the 18th century community of Mount Lebanon.

This becomes even clearer when the narrator states that Hindiye got into conflicts with the Jesuits, for example, without giving any reasons for this conflict.

The mystical life of Hindiye, however, is stressed through simplicity of the settings and decoration merely composed of a leafless tree and some wooden boxes.

Meanwhile music and choreography used in the different scenes contribute to the mystical aspect of the story.

Unfortunately for those who enjoy musicals and dance shows, they would barely have time to appreciate either the singing or the dancing since they are played for a limited time despite the participation of well-known musicians such as Muhieddine Ghali, Abdel Karim Shaar and his daughter Reem.

The different scenes of the play are sometimes long, repetitive and not really entertaining as they lack the element of suspense. Perhaps the director should have stressed more historical and political data, the main reason behind trouble in that period, instead of focusing on the legends and popular myths at the time.

The mystery remains at the end of the play: Was Hindiye a saint or simply a wordly figure?