“Can we talk about football?” Mohammad Al Attar’s ironical question at the beginning of our conversation pointedly sums up the situation. Author Al Attar and his congenial director Omar Abusaada obviously cannot stop themselves from reflecting on the conflict in their homeland Syria and its impact on their lives and art. But it is their mix of artistic endeavour, staunchly-formulated political opinion and joie-de-vivre, often turning into sneering, anarchical humour and loud laughter, that fills my encounter with these two extraordinary theatre-makers, and gives it its charm and depth — even if at times one cannot help feeling it is them laughing at the absurdity of life.

It is exactly this foundation that gives dimension to Intimacy, which premiered at the Homeworks Festival in Beirut in May 2013. The play outlines the life story of the main actor Yaser Abdellatif in snatches and by association, as well as providing us with a portrait of his character: following the 1989 military coup d´état the black Sudanese actor emigrated as a student from Khartoum to Damascus, where he became a star. More than 20 years later, the conflict in Syria forced him to return to his former homeland as a stranger. For...