Iraqi theatre director and visual theatre pioneer Salah al-Kasab dies at 81

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Salah al-Kasab, an Iraqi theatre director and academic recognized as a pioneer of the visual theatre movement, has died at the age of 81 following a long illness, the Iraqi Artists Syndicate announced. In a condolence statement, the syndicate expressed deep sorrow over his death and offered condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. Born in Baghdad in 1945, al-Kasab was regarded as one of Iraq's and the Arab world's leading theatre directors and academics. He taught directing at Baghdad's College of Fine Arts and contributed from the early 1980s to the establishment and development of the visual theatre movement, approaching his work with a visual and poetic perspective that moved beyond traditional text-based theatrical conventions. Among his notable productions was a 1980 staging of "Hamlet" that presented an original visual interpretation of the play. His published works include "Visual Theatre: Between Theory and Practice," "Quantum Philosophy in Visual Theatre," "The Chemistry of the Visual and Studies of Physical Images," and the memoir "The Journey of the Man with the Black Umbrella." Iraqi theatre has lost one of the figures who shaped the development of visual language on its stages and produced influential experiences in Arab performing arts, the syndicate said in its statement.