On today's theatre scene, one man shows and stand up comedies have become the staple product, pushing aside theatrical exigency, in favor of an art form which is often associated with facility.

The Tunisian stage director Abdelmajid Bellakhal is attempting to restore some of the lost grandeur of the Tunisian theatrical scene by relentlessly adapting and writing plays in classical Arabic, steering clear of the vernacular, in search of "a more poetic language which still retains part of its mystery" as he puts it.

His recent play, "Jugurtha" which retraces the life of a Berber King of Numidia and one of Tunisia's charismatic historical figures, is an hymn to the courage of a man who defied the formidable Roman army to defend the honor of his people against fanaticism, humiliation and slavery. A situation he says which shows striking similarities with the current plight of Arabs and Moslems.

In an interview to TUNISIAONLINENEWS, Abdelmajid Bellakhal said that since his creation in 2005 of the play the "Albatros", his dramatic pursuit has been geared towards "a contradictory and yet complementary dialogue between Greek tragedy and Shakespearian drama".

In his capacity as playwright, producer, and actor, the 50 year- old Bellakhal is both an iconoclast and a free mind. His rich national and international experience with the likes of Ali Ben Ayed, Mouna Noureddine, Roberto Rossellini, Franco Zeffirelli and many others, has not distracted him from his long time quest for a quality art.