Abdallah Al-Mudaress: Performing Social Criticism in 1940s Beirut

This paper analyzes social and political criticism performed by a largely overlooked group of protagonists, known as monologists. Monologists, an Arabic term likely gleaned from French, performed rhyming soliloquy in colloquial Arabic (‘ammiya). Accompanied by upbeat orchestral melodies and often dripping with irony, they thematized politics, gender, and class relations through quotidian topics. Both men and women starred as monologists in entertainment venues in Beirut and, with growing popularity, broadcasted on the radio. Drawing on recordings retrieved from the Lebanese radio station’s archives alongside press records, this paper uses the oeuvre of the monologist Abdallah al-Mudaress (1917-1958) as a window into popular concerns, aspirations, and anxieties during decolonization.