Absurdity Under Occupation: Contextualizing the Theatre of the Absurd in Iraq in Al Assadi’s Baghdadi Bath (2005)

Abstract

Abstract: This paper contends that Jawad Al-Assadi’s Baghdadi Bath (2005) is a contextualisation of the European Theatre of the Absurd's techniques to articulate a distinctly Iraqi critique of the occupation. The Theatre of the Absurd is a genre pioneered by European playwrights and emerged from the existential crisis post-World War II. Unlike the European Theatre of the Absurd, absurdism in the play stems not from the abstract, metaphysical and existential despair but from the tangible, political upheaval and moral decay. Through a textual analysis of the play, this study examines the localisation of key absurdist conventions, including incomprehensible setting, cyclical structure, fractured dialogue, archetypal characters and denial of catharsis. This paper has two primary objectives. First, it examines localisation of the conventions of the Theatre of the Absurd in Baghdadi Bath (2005). Second, it examines how this localised absurdity functions as a potent medium to critique the socio-political reality of post-2003 Iraq rather than a philosophical exercise. 

The key results of the play show how the play’s setting, which is a dysfunctional bathhouse, is a metaphor for the nation's sinking into turmoil. Furthermore, the brothers’ Sisyphean actions and fragmented communications indicate the relentless trauma under sanction, dictatorship and occupation. This study is significant due to the scarcity of scholarship on how absurdist techniques have been adapted into the Iraqi context. While Western absurd theatre is extensively studied, little attention is given to the contextualisation of the theatre of the absurd in Iraq. Moreover, the play offers a human-scale account of the Iraqi experience that transcends simple political and historical accounts. Thus, Baghdadi Bath is a significant work for understanding the human cost of conflict and the capability of the dramatic spectrum in showing the Iraqi's perspective about the occupation and its aftermaths.