Muscat – Omani theatre production On the Edge of Oblivion, directed by Sami Al Busaidi, was staged at the 24th edition of the Summer Zarqa Arab Theatre Festival in Jordan, being held from September 12 to 18.

The production explores the relationship between theatre and successive generations through an intense conflict between an older generation and a new one. From the opening moments, the audience is confronted with a central question: how can the theatrical experience continue and be passed from one generation to another?

On the Edge of Oblivion features Rawan Al Ghilani, Mudeem Al Gharbi and Khattab Al Shamkhi.

Al Busaidi uses the theatrical space as an expressive element alongside text, transforming the stage into a setting that evokes the passage of time and a memory threatened with erasure. The actors’ movements, together with their shifting positions and roles, reinforce the idea of replacement and generational succession.

The minimalist set design leaves greater space for the performers’ movement, allowing meanings to emerge through the action on stage. Lighting plays a central role in shaping the production’s visual language, with contrasts between light and darkness reflecting the duality of presence and absence associated with the theme of forgetting.

Lighting is also used to isolate characters and emphasise moments of confrontation. The interplay of light and darkness thus becomes part of the production’s dramatic and symbolic structure, complementing the actors’ movements, the stage space and the set design.