Artists, viewers call for a revival of Jordanian TV drama

AMMAN – A recent broadcast of Um Al Krum, a renowned Jordanian TV drama produced 16 years ago, beat viewing figures for modern TV shows locally and regionally and prompted calls for a return to Jordanian drama’s “age of glory”, stakeholders said. 

Shayesh Al Naemi, a veteran actor who took part in the soap opera, noted that despite a modest budget of around JD45,000 and simple production techniques, the series had a positive impact on Jordanian drama.

"The Jordanian audience is smart enough to differentiate between good-quality and low-quality products. Um Al Krum is highly appreciated even by today's generation because it has an important message to deliver and it highlights Jordan’s culture and daily life," Naemi told The Jordan Times over the phone. 

Jordanian actors interviewed by The Jordan Times said that local drama is in abject condition today compared to the “good old days”. 

The Jordanian Artists Association (JAA) President Sari Asaad attributed the lack of production of Jordanian dramas to a shortage of funding. 

"The cheapest good-quality series will cost between JD700,000 and JD1 million today. Many production companies cannot take this much risk. However, people need to understand that we should use dramas to send messages to our audience as well as to generate money," he told The Jordan Times. 

Asaad noted the importance of drama to political participation: "Drama series is closer to the people’s hearts than political speeches and can also have positive effects on tourism. Turkish producers have done this particularly well.” 

Actress Abeer Issa, who was the star of several golden-age drama series, said a “political decision” is necessary to bring Jordanian drama back on track. 

"Jordanian TV stopped producing series. There is an urgent need for collaboration between the private and public sector to make new works," Issa told The Jordan Times. 

Yet Zuheir Noubani, who acted in more than 70 works over a 40-year career, expressed pessimism about legislation’s ability to encourage local drama, but he believes that audiences who remember the old days would continue to call for new works similar to the hit series of the past, when made-in-Jordan series used to receive applause all over the Arab world.

Fuoad Abu Mazer, a Jordanian viewer who remembers the golden age of Jordanian drama, told The Jordan Times that the new generation requires works similar to Um Al Krum to counteract what he described as the "cheap shows" broadcast on regional TV channels, which are “without meaning” to the Jordanian public and do not “respect the culture and heritage of the Kingdom”.

"I liked that the old series talked about our stories and our daily life,” echoed Bilal Hiyari, another viewer.

Naemi, the Um Al Krum star, stressed the importance of “real drama” to the development of Jordan’s politics and educated class.

"Countries are protected not only by rifles, but by educated people who have great awareness. Local drama can make people aware of issues around them," he concluded.