From The Streets to the Stage, Yemen Finds its Voice
When night falls on Sanaa, one of the Middle East capitals resonating with calls for democratic change, the revolutionaries shift their struggle from the streets to an open-air stage at the university.
The bleachers go up, the lights are hung, the crowds gather and an imaginary curtain rises on the premier theater in the Yemeni capital, a city without cinemas where entertainment normally revolves around tea and qat.
"I was born when President Ali Abdullah Saleh came to power," says actor and director Ali al-Saadani, who is among those demanding greater democracy in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula republic.
Like many other privileged young Yemenis, Ali left his homeland to study abroad but when he returned he confronted what his fellow youths now want to change -- a static society where patronage is king.
"I couldn't get a job with Yemeni TV because I had no support," says the artist who has eagerly embraced the new spirit of open debate to write satirical sketches lampooning the government.
The shows begin nightly at 9 pm with a performance of devotional songs from musicians of the Al-Islah Islamic party.
Then the real fun begins, as professional and amateur actors perform a colorful revue of punchy sketches with uncompromising titles like "The corrupt regime" or "The bribe" or "The people want the regime to fall."
Any time an actor mentions President Saleh by name, the crowd erupts with cries of "get lost!"
Ahmad al-Chammari passes through the rows of spectators offering hot cups of tea, the beverage of choice on cool evenings in a city located some 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) above sea level.
"I graduated from the University of Sanaa two years ago and I'm still unemployed. But many of those who completed their studies after me have become managers because of their connections," he says.
On the stage, the actors play out a scene that has become familiar to Yemenis after weeks of protests that have left at least 27 people dead since late January, according to a toll compiled by Amnesty International.
A gang of thugs in the pay of the regime beats student protesters with batons, sending them fleeing for their lives.
Their mission accomplished, the strongmen head to the ministry to get their money, but are denied. The bad guys turn their blows on the minister, and the crowd applauds with approval.
In such moments of levity, the Yemenis' favorite pastime -- the chewing of qat -- is never far away. Sellers of the mildly stimulating plant are also embracing the heady spirit of the times.
Ali Moqdam sells the fresh green leaves from a small tent with a banner that proclaims: "The people want the fall of the regime." He says it's the only work he's been able to get for more than a decade.
The outdoor theatre in Sanaa is a welcome distraction in a city without a single cinema. But more than that, it is a source of encouragement for the student protesters who have camped at the university since February 21.
The students are hoping their camp will become a rallying point for democratic change like Egypt's Tahrir square ahead of the downfall of Hosni Mubarak's autocratic regime last month.
But the drama of Yemen is still only in the third act, and the final denouement could go either way.
Two of the most important characters in the ouster of Mubarak -- the Egyptian military and the United States -- have yet to make their appearance on the Yemeni stage.
The Yemeni military is still very much under Saleh's control, while Washington is eager to maintain stability in a country that is battling one of the most virulent offshoots of al-Qaida.
A State Department official recently described Yemen-based "al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula" as the biggest threat to the U.S. homeland, and U.S. Special Forces are in Yemen training counter-terrorism units.
Thomas Krajeski, who served as U.S. ambassador to Yemen from 2004 to 2007, told Agence France Presse recently that many in the U.S. government are hoping Saleh survives, "because we don't know what comes next."
