Adapting Shakespearean Tragedy into Arab Theatre: A Critical Comparative Edition of Sulayman Al Bassam’s An Arab Tragedy

This dissertation presents an annotated critical edition of Sulayman Al-Bassam’s 2006 play Richard III: An Arab Tragedy, a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s Richard III set in the contemporary Arab world. The play has previously been published in a simplified and lightly annotated English-language version. This dissertation compares this final published text with the Arabic version, with the Shakespeare source-text, and with an earlier draft version in English, and by comparative textual analysis and annotation sheds light upon the process of adaptation and translation. The annotated play is preceded by an extended critical introduction which provides a theoretical discussion of adaptation, translation, and appropriation and contextualizes the play in the history of Shakespearean adaptation more broadly, and in the Arab world more specifically. The thesis is that Al-Bassam’s appropriation is not so much a radical adaptation of a fixed and stable text, but a continuation of the play’s already complex and plural textual and stage history. The dissertation argues that Al-Bassam’s reworking of the play must be understood in multiple contexts, as part of a continuum of meaning connected with Shakespeare and his multiple sources; with Arab literary and cultural traditions; and with the fraught political situation of the Middle East in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The introduction provides a detailed discussion of the complex textual history of Shakespeare’s play, with a focus on the deformity of the title character as a marker of otherness which renders him particularly attractive for an Arab audience. It also analyses in detail the text of Al-Bassam’s play in both English and Arabic versions, exploring the demands made on the text by the movement between languages and cultures. This analysis also explores the importance of features such as music, costume and staging in bridging between cultures and time-periods for different audiences, with particular reference to the original production of the play which opened in Stratford-upon-Avon and subsequently toured internationally. Richard III: An Arab Tragedy has itself been adapted into a documentary film called Richard III: An Arab VIP, which incorporates a recording of the original performance, and the introduction also discusses the complexities of the relationship between text, play and film. The submission also contains two appendices: the full text of the Arabic version of the play (A); and the full text of the draft translation of the play back into English (D), which later formed the basis for the published version (P). Each of these texts has been edited and arranged in order to make comparative analysis possible for the researcher, now and in the future, with clear line numbering being added to make precise reference to Acts and Scenes possible.

Anti-60kDa heat shock protein antibodies in fetal serum : a biomarker for unexplained small for gestational age fetuses

Rapport de synthèseObjectifsLe retard de croissance intrautérin (RCIU) est un problème affectant 10% des grossesses et est associé à une morbidité périnatale importante. Dans environ 80% des cas, une étiologie ou un facteur de risque majeur peuvent être identifiés. Mais près de 20% des cas sont considérés comme inexpliqués. La heat shock protéine 60kDa (HSP60) est une protéine fortement immunogène dont la synthèse est considérablement augmentée lors de conditions non- physiologiques. Les HSP60 humaines et bactériennes partagent un haut degré d'homologie de séquence ce qui peut engendrer une maladie auto-immune à la suite d'une infection bactérienne. Nous avons supposé que les RCIU inexpliqués pourraient être la conséquence d'une sensibilisation à l'HSP60 humaine.MéthodesLes RCIU inexpliqués ont été identifiés par mesure échographique avec un doppler normal, sans anomalies décelables chez la mère ou le foetus. Les sera foetaux ont été obtenus par cordocentèse, effectuée lors d'analyse du caryotype en cas de RCIU inexpliqué (groupe d'étude) ou pour le dépistage d'une incompatibilité Rhésus (groupe témoin). Ils ont été testés pour l'antigène HSP60 et les IgG et IgM anti-HSP60 par ELISA ainsi que pour d'autres paramètres immunitaires et hématologiques.RésultatsLes paramètres maternels sont similaires entre les 12 cas du groupe d'étude et les 23 cas du groupe contrôle. L'âge gestationnel moyen lors de la cordocentèse est de 29 semaines. Les IgM anti-HSP60 sont détectés dans 12 cas d'étude (100%) mais dans aucun cas contrôle (p <0,00017), les IgG anti-HSP60 dans 7 cas d'étude (58%) et un seul dans le groupe contrôle (p <0,001). Trois des quatre cas avec les taux d'IgM les plus élevés sont décédés. Il n'y a pas de différences entre les deux groupes quant aux taux d'antigène HSP60 ou d'autres marqueurs immunologiques ou hématologiques.ConclusionLes foetus avec un RCIU inexpliqué expriment un taux élevé d'anticorps IgM et IgG contre l'HSP60 humaine et le taux d'IgM est un facteur prédictif de la mortalité foetale. La détection de ces anticorps indique qu'une perturbation placentaire et une réaction auto-immune foetale liée à l'HSP60 sont associées à ce retard de développement chez le foetus

Anti-60-kDa heat shock protein antibodies in fetal serum: a biomarker for unexplained small for gestational age fetuses.

Introduction: Small for gestational age (SGA) is an important problem affecting 10% of pregnancies and is associated with significant perinatal morbidity. In about 80% of cases, a probable etiology or a major risk factor can be identified. But almost 20% of SGA cases are considered unexplained. The 60-kDa heat shock protein (HSP60) is a highly immunogenic protein whose synthesis is greatly upregulated under nonphysiological conditions. Bacterial and human HSP60 share a high degree of sequence homology, and immunity to conserved epitopes may result in development of autoimmunity following a bacterial infection. We hypothesized that unexplained SGA could be the consequence of immune sensitization to human HSP60. Methods: Unexplained SGA fetuses were identified by ultrasound biometry with normal Doppler velocimetry and with no detectable maternal or fetal abnormalities. Fetal sera were obtained by cordocentesis performed for a karyotype analysis in cases of unexplained SGA (study group) or for screening of Rhesus incompatibility (control group). Fetal sera were tested for HSP60 antigen and for IgG and IgM anti-HSP60 by ELISA as well as for other immune and hematological parameters. Results: Maternal parameters were similar between the 12 study cases and the 23 control cases. The mean gestational age at cordocentesis was 29 weeks. IgM anti-HSP60 was detected in 12 cases (100%) and in no controls (p < 0.00017), while IgG anti-HSP60 was detected in 7 cases (58%) and only 1 control (p < 0.001). Three of the 4 cases with the highest IgM antibody levels died. There were no differences in fetal serum levels of HSP60 antigen or other immune and hematological markers between the two groups. Conclusion: Fetuses with unexplained SGA are positive for IgM and IgG antibody to human HSP60 and the specific IgM antibody level is predictive of fetal mortality. Detection of these antibodies indicates that a placental perturbation and a fetal autoimmune reaction to HSP60 are associated with this developmental delay