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On Wednesday, February 21, 2024, the towering Lebanese actor, playwright, and director Antoine Moultaka passed away at the age of 91. The esteemed figure was renowned for his adaptations and translations of illustrious masterpieces of the sixth art, in collaboration with his wife, Latifé Moultaka, and for his grand-scale performances. Why is he regarded as the father of Lebanese theater?
Born on June 9, 1933, Antoine Moultaka completed his school education at Collège de la Sagesse and earned a degree in philosophy from Saint Joseph University (USJ). He began his theatrical career in 1953 as a scriptwriter and actor in Macbeth, under the direction of Mounir Abou Debs, but they soon parted ways to work independently. Among the actor’s main adaptations and translations are: Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky in 1963, The Flies by Jean-Paul Sartre in 1963, Richard III by Shakespeare in 1964, Blood Wedding by Federico Garcia Lorca in 1964, The Comedy of Errors by Shakespeare in 1964, The Visit by Friedrich Dürrenmatt in 1987, The Emigrant from Brisbane by Georges Schéhadé in 1990. He met his other half, Latifé Moultaka (née Chamoun), and they fell passionately in love. As a lawyer, Latifé discovered her artistic potential and her talent as an actress through his influence. They were lovers who “did not look at each other but looked together in the same direction,” according to Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s expression on love, to the point that they could not be separated, neither in private life nor professionally. They had three children: Zad, the famous musician and composer, Gilbert, a graduate in nuclear physics, Jihane, a university professor, and five grandchildren.
Julia Cassar, the actress and professor of dramatic arts at the Lebanese University, declares, “It’s thanks to Antoine Moultaka that we were able to specialize in our field.” They, meaning several generations of actors and actresses, obtained degrees before gaining recognition, thanks to his initiative, as he was the one who established the theater department at LU. “While being strict as a professor, he nourished our talent and imagination by making us perceive theater as a sacred place and the actor as a demiurge, thanks to the values of which he is the depositary and mediator,” emphasizes the great actress. He moved heaven and earth to provide a theater of experimentation for students, and he was the one who opened the Maroun Naccache theater for diploma projects, Cassar confirms. He possessed unmatched classical Shakespearean dimensions as an actor. Indeed, he made Shakespeare easy and accessible to students, which was an achievement.
Testimony of the Former Director of FBAA2, Dr. Raja Samrani
Dr. Raja Samrani, former director of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Architecture 2 (FBAA2) and Moultaka’s student, states, “He was a pioneer who founded the theater department at the Lebanese University in 1965. Students could follow a university curriculum at the end of which they received a degree, awarded after four years of study and designated as a Diploma of Advanced Studies (DEA), while in France, the country of culture and arts, this university specialization did not emerge until 1969 and in the United Kingdom only in 1970. He also worked with the Ministry of Education to introduce the theater as a subject in public and private schools. Thus, theater graduates had the opportunity to teach in various establishments and earn a decent living.” Antoine Moultaka created the theater workshop and experimental theater. According to Dr. Samrani, he was the first to introduce the traditional art of the storyteller (Hakawati) to the theater, as well as the first to introduce a circular theater where interaction between actors and spectators is mandatory. This Lebanese renaissance in theater is indeed the work of Antoine Moultaka.
Of course, he was not alone; there were also Mounir Abou Debs, Raymond Gebara, Jalal Khoury… “But Antoine Moultaka is a theater school in itself, just as Brecht and Chekhov are. He did not copy them; instead, he drew inspiration from their works, embodying the belief that no artist creates in a vacuum.” His house served as a workshop for actors with his partner Latifé Moultaka. He was the founder of the syndicate of professional artists in Lebanon. Georges Schehade, who was translated into 34 languages, “was not a prophet in his own country.” It was Moultaka who democratized the learning of Schehade and many others. He should be studied as we study internationally recognized directors and playwrights. “I had the honor of paying tribute to him when I was director of FBAA2 at the Lebanese University, by working to build a theater hall named after Antoine and Latifé Moultaka.” In 2019, the Lebanese University awarded honorary doctorates to Antoine and Latifé Moultaka, recognizing their contributions to theater.