Chouchou, figure gravée dans la mémoire collective du théâtre libanais

Abstract

Chouchou is the nickname of Lebanese artist Hassan Alâ’ed-dine (1939-1975). Hassan founded the Lebanese National Theatre (1965-1975), the first daily theatre in Lebanon. This theatre produced, during a ten-year period, twenty-six comedic plays in which Chouchou played the main character. Who is Chouchou, though, and how did he turn into a star in the eyes of the Lebanese general public of theatre? Chouchou –with his strong Beiruti accent, a vortex of extravagant movements, a sensitive soul with a fragile heart, a conman with his distinct moustache– appropriated his own unique physical and speech mannerisms, which rendered him a Typical character. He would draw on the Arabic folkloric Karâkûz and Hakawâtî and embrace the characteristics of a boulevard theatre character. As such, Chouchou became the main artistic source around which the play would be written and directed and on which the public attention would focus. This character’s roles and his play’s themes accorded his theatre a social role. Chouchou’s theatre preceded the 1975 civil war, and thus witnessed the pre-war period with all its foreboding signs. As such, his plays’ themes targeted the socio-political upheaval facing society at the time. Through his plays, Chouchou was a mouthpiece, so to speak, of critique and reproach directed at both the population and political authorities. By virtue of his remarkable presence and irresistible humor, Chouchou became a subtle and
delicate clown. In such a manner, he would show, unveil, and mock society’s defects, all the while performing his main function: arousing laughter. With such
portrayal, Chouchou constructed an identity for his theatre and homogenized his plays. As such, he created his own signature in Lebanese theatre. What were the
features, ticks, characteristics, and paths that turned him into an iconic figure of popular theatre in Lebanon?