REAL THEATER
For Iraqi Thespians
The Show Must Go On

Like most things in Iraq, the Iraqi theater is in disarray. The al-Rashid was looted and torched in the wake of the battle of Baghdad. It sits next door to the blackened ruin of Iraq's former Information Ministry. Of the building's nine floors, only one theater hall and a few small rooms escaped the vandals.

Sami Qaftan, one of Iraq's most prominent actors and playwrights, took it upon himself to salvage what he could of the theater, one of 12 in the Iraqi capital. "We managed to protect one hall. The stage and seats are intact. Luckily, the sound and lighting systems were not damaged," he said. Qaftan and others take heart that they're part of a budding revival of Iraq's once rich arts and culture scene.

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