Baghdad event marks centenary of theater pioneer Jassim Al-Aboudi

BAGHDAD — Al-Mada Foundation for Culture and Arts on Friday commemorated the 100th anniversary of Iraqi theater pioneer Jassim Al-Aboudi with a gathering on Mutanabbi Street attended by artists, critics, and academics.

Participants highlighted Al-Aboudi’s role in introducing modern approaches to Iraqi theater, particularly his adaptation of Konstantin Stanislavski’s methods and his incorporation of realism and epic theater into Iraqi performance.

Aqeel Mahdi, head of the Iraqi Association of Theater Critics, told 964media, “He Arabized a school not familiar in Iraq, the Stanislavski system, which he translated from English. He was among the best directors in terms of professionalism, awareness, and language.”

Baha Al-Janabi, a theater lecturer, said, “He was a diverse school of talent who laid the first foundation stone for modern Iraqi theater. Reviving works at the level of Jassim Al-Aboudi requires great academic effort and care.”

Session moderator Saad Aziz Abdul Sahib reflected on Al-Aboudi’s legacy, telling 964media, “If Jassim Al-Aboudi were present today, he would recoil at the chaos, the lack of production, and the absence of capable people to lead the theatrical movement.”

He added that young artists could revive Al-Aboudi’s spirit “through preserving the Arabic language, its precision, and clarity of sound in performance.”

Al-Aboudi’s influence extended to generations of actors, including Qasim Mohammed, Sami Qeftan, Qadir Naamani, and Aziz Khayoun. Among his major productions was “All My Sons”, staged for Baghdad Television in 1978.