São Paulo – Theatrical play “Salamaleque” will start a new season on stages in São Paulo (the capital of the namesake state) next Saturday (24th). It features actress Valéria Arbex telling stories about Syrian relatives of hers while she cooks typical Arab dishes. At the end of the play, the audience tastes the dishes she cooked onstage: bread and za’atar (a spice), hummus and even aromatized water are on the menu.
The play has been featured in the city before, in 2013. Afterwards, it was staged elsewhere in the state, and even once in Morocco. Now it’s back, after winning the first edition of the Zé Renato Prize, in the second half of 2014. The prize is designed to foster theatrical production in the city, and two new editions will be held this year.
Elizete, the character, recounts events that happened to Syrian immigrants and ones she experienced herself as a child, often “spiced up” with different flavours and scents. The foundation for the script are love letters exchanged by Arbex’s maternal grandparents, who were born in Yabroud, a city about 80 kilometres off Damascus, Syria.
As she relates these stories in a script combining fiction and reality, Elizete cooks a few recipes for the audience. The play is set in a warehouse on Downtown São Paulo’s Florêncio de Abreu Street.
“My mother would travel from the countryside to [the namesake state capital] São Paulo and stay over at Florêncio de Abreu Street, where many Arab immigrants dwelled,” the actress reminisces. Her grandfather arrived in Brazil in 1920 and settled in Piraju. The grandmother came in 1939 and went to live in Cerqueira César. Both cities are in São Paulo’s countryside.
“The first season was great. I stay physically close to the audience. After the play, everyone is invited to the supper; we establish direct contact and talk. I heard a lot of stories about ascendants from people that came to the show, not always Arab. The audience also tells stories of their childhood related to the dishes that were prepared by their parents and grandparents. This play tells a lot about memory and we wanted for it not to be restricted only to the stories of Arabs”, says Arbex.
One of the play’s directors, Kiko Marques, says that when they wrote the script they were already thinking about the possibility of including the culinary experience onto the stage. “This play is very connected to memory and much related to childhood. The dishes share a meaning with the character’s lines”, Kiko remarks.
Although the past is the main theme of “Salamaleque”, the current crisis in Syria is mentioned during the play. The excerpt was included in the script because Valéria’s relatives that were still living in Yabroud had to leave the city because of the conflict. “Salamaleque”’s original soundtrack was composed by Sami Bordokan, who uses traditional instruments such as the lute, derbaki (percussion) and the Arab flute to portray the Syrian-Lebanese folklore of early twentieth century. The name of the play is an allusion to the Arab expression “as-salaamu aleikum”, which means “may peace be with you”.
Service
Salamaleque, com Cia Teatral Damasco
Instituto Cultural Capobianco, Rua Álvaro de Carvalho, 97, Centro, São Paulo, SP.
From January 24th to April 26th, 2015
Time: Saturdays and Sundays, 4 PM
Free admission
Length: 60 minutes
Information: (11) 3237-1187
Reservations: (11) 97499-4243
E-mail: ciateatraldamasco@gmail.com
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum and Sérgio Kakitani
