Connecting Faith through Theatre: Barazan’yee as a Semi-Ritual Performance in Thai Muslim Communities

Abstract

This research paper examines the creative process used to connect young Muslims with their experience, their faith, and their community through a community-based performance. It also stresses the different levels of connections that resulted from the performance itself. The author sought to reconnect Barazan’yee, an important Arabic poetic chant, to people in the Bangkok Islamic community using tools from community theatre. The performance design process allowed them to tell their own story in relation to Bar’zanyee poetry in ways that are meaningful to them and their community, thus connecting their lives to the life of Prophet Muhammad. The first performance was in a public theatre resulted in a shift in structure and participation choices for audience in the second performance at a public theatre. Although both performances were conducted in a semi-ritualized environment of the Muslim community, the latter better engaged both the performers and audience.