Empty Shells
By Ramez Tabit
Directed by Patricia Cornelius
Starring Nicholas Cassim, Nadia Coreno, Carmelina Di Guglielmo, Senol Mat, Ramez Tabit
Forward Theatre at the Universal Theatre, Melbourne, until June 7
Review by Bronwen Beechey
Ahmed, Tony, Sam and Ali are friends. They grew up together, live in the same neighbourhood, go to the same school. They trade insults, get into mischief and plan to build a boat and sail away together. Then suddenly the war begins and everything changes.
This is Beirut and Ahmed is a Sunni Muslim, Ali a Shiite Muslim, Tony a Maronite Christian and Sam a Greek Orthodox. As the violence increases, these previously ignored religious differences now threaten the boys' friendship.
Ahmed's family is thrown into turmoil. His parents are opposed to the violence and don't want to be involved, but his sister Laila is drawn into the struggle through her friendship with Abdullah, a Palestinian fighter who grew up in a Lebanese refugee camp. Ahmed and his friends are both repelled by the brutality of the war and seduced by the excitement, glamour and machismo embodied in Maher, the leader of one of the factions. Ahmed's parents are faced with an agonising choice — stay and risk the lives of their children, or leave their country for an uncertain future.
Empty Shells writer, and actor, Ramez Tabit migrated with his family from Lebanon when he was 13. This is the first professional production of an Arabic-Australian writer's work. Tabit began writing out of frustration with the stereotyped acting roles he was being offered — "Arab card-players, terrorists or thugs". In 1995 he wrote and directed But You Don't Look Middle Eastern, which dealt with the racism the Arab-Australian community experiences. With Empty Shells, he "decided to write a play that reflected the many lives of Australia's inhabitants, those that are not yet presented on the Australian stage".
Empty Shells is not just a worthy plea for tolerance, however. It is also an engaging and moving drama. The cast of five, from a range of ethnic backgrounds, perform well in their multiple roles, with Nicholas Cassim particularly outstanding in the pivotal role of Ahmed. An unusual feature of the play is that the two female actors also play two of the boys — and it works. Clifton Dolliver's simple but effective set and Efterpi Soropos' lighting also play vital roles.
While Empty Shells makes some political points about the war in Lebanon, breaking down the media stereotypes of religious sectarianism and ethnic hatred in the process, its main focus is the destructive effect of the war on ordinary people. This particular story of civil war and the use of religious differences to justify struggles for power or land, social and economic dislocation and forced emigration, is also the story of many other Australians from other parts of the world.