Al Zenzalakht (scientifically known as the Melia Azedarach) is a play written in the 1960's by the Lebanese playwright, Issam Mahfouz, who was highly renowned for his political sting in his texts. This play deals with a main character, Saadoun, who finds himself surrounded by a colonel who believes is a judge, a writer who knows his relationship to her sister, a lawyer who claims is his relative, alleged witnesses, clowns, and beggars. All he wanted was to get past the door he relentlessly knocks, for someone to open it, to release him from the trial of a crime he was accused of, that is yet to be revealed throughout the fragmented scenes of the play. The problem was, he was the only one sane enough to know that everyone else wasn't. 

This play was first staged at the University of Balamand in 2014, then toured to Babel Theatre 
in Beirut in 2015, under Charles Dik’s direction.










I acknowledge the Wurundjeri people as the traditional owners of the land where I work and live. 
I pay my respects to Elders past and present. I celebrate the stories, culture and traditions of 
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders of all communities who also work and live on this land.