How these Iraqi artists are breathing new life into ruined theater
Impatient with neglect by successive Iraqi governments for cultural development, a group of producers and performers has taken on the task of renovating a destroyed theater.
![Iraqi actors perform on the stage of the damaged Rasheed theatre in Baghdad May 4, 2003, during the first post-war theatre play in the city. Members of the Najeen group performed "They passed from here", a political performance in the country's main theatre which was burned, damaged and looted during the chaotic fall of the regime of [Saddam Hussein.] - RTXLYCE](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_large/public/almpics/2016/04/RTXLYCE.jpg/RTXLYCE.jpg?h=5021389d&itok=yWYpe_Po "IRAQ")
BAGHDAD — Covered in dust, Iraqi stage actor Alawi Hussein carried logs in a race against time. He and some of his fellow actors rushed to open Al-Rashid Theater in the heart of Baghdad on March 27, World Theater Day.
Hussein and his friends succeeded in renovating and reopening one floor of the theater on time to produce artistic and theatrical pieces and perform them on stage.
