Accompanied by his theater troupe, Hassan El Jai presents “Majnûn, the madman of Layla”, his vision of love, in theaters of Morocco on October 28, 29 and 30.
After “Soufi mon amour”, Hassan El Jai will introduce his audience to “Majnûn, le fou de Layla”, Thursday October 28 at 8 p.m. at the Anfa Cultural Complex in Casablanca, Friday October 29 at 7 p.m. at the Mohammed V National Theater in Rabat and Sunday October 31 at 7 p.m. at the Soleiman Palace in Marrakech.
This play follows the tragic legend of the thwarted love of Qays and Layla, two children of the Arabian desert. When fate opposes their union, Qays, mad with pain, withdraws into the desert among the wild beasts, declaiming his love to all the winds. Receiving the nickname of Majnûn, “the madman” in Arabic, the latter symbolizes the amorous passion which is accomplished only in annihilation.
Passionate about theater since childhood, Hassan El Jaï studied at the Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute in New York, then at the Cours Florent in Paris – where he obtained his professional actor license with honors.
Based today in Morocco, he directs and plays texts on the boards, gives drama lessons and acts as a coach in public speaking.
Among many texts performed on stage, we can cite universal classics such as The Little Prince, The Prophet by Khalil Gibran, Cyrano de Bergerac or Othello, not to mention essential works by Jalâl-Dîn Rûmi, Victor Hugo and Olivier Py.
Its adaptation in two languages of “Soufi, mon Amour” is its greatest success to date: around a hundred performances spread across Belgium, France, Morocco, Switzerland and the United States – notably in English in universities. Columbia, Princeton and Yale.
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