Marhaba! Hope you all enjoyed reading about Ziad Rahbani’s famed play! It’s wonderful and one of my favorites. As mentioned earlier on, this play touches on many of the important themes and issues that still plague our everyday life. Today I am providing the answers to the reading comprehension exercise and I am also sharing the first four parts of Ziad’s play. Some of the play’s most memorable and famous jokes are in these audio clips. Please note that these are available via YouTube and after years we can finally watch this play on the silver screen. If you enjoy these parts, click here to find the rest of the play. Keep in mind that these audio clips are extremely useful for listening to natives having conversations in the Levantine, especially Lebanese, dialect. Enjoy 🙂

Answers:

1) {سهرية} و{نزل السرور}
Sahriyeh and Nazl al-Surur

2) صوّرتها ليال شقيقة زياد الرحباني على مراحل قبل نحو 38 عاماً، بهدف مساعدة زياد والممثلين خلال التمارين لمراقبة حركتهم على المسرح
Layal, Ziad al-Rahbani’s sister, had taped the play in intervals 38 years ago for the purpose of helping Ziad and the actors during practice to observe their moves on stage.

3) أرسلتها الشركة المنتجة إلى لوس انجليس حيث استغرق ترميمها ستة أشهر، وانتقلت من ثم إلى هامبورغ مدة سنتين لمعالجة الصوت، وعادت إلى بيروت لإنجاز المونتاج ووضع اللمسات الأخيرة
The production company sent it to Los Angeles where it was restored over a period of 6 months, and from there it was sent to Hamburg for two years to treat the sound, and then back to Beirut for editing and final touches.

4) في حانة في شارع الحمرا ترتادها شرائح مختلفة من المجتمع اللبناني
In a bar in Hamra street that was frequented by various groups of Lebanese society

5) Translate the following sentence to English:

تتمحور المسرحية حول زكريا (زياد الرحباني) وثريا (نبيلة زيتونة)، زوجان ينتقلان من القرية إلى المدينة بحثاً عن حياة أفضل لهما ولأولادهما
The play revolves around Zakaria (Ziad al-Rahbani) and Thuraya (Nabila Zaytuna), a married couple who move from the village to the city in search for a better life for themselves and their children.

For now take care and stay tuned for upcoming posts!
Happy Learning!
Have a nice day!!
نهاركم سعيد