ABSTRACT
Theatre historians credit the introduction of European-style theatre in the Arab world to three pioneers-Marun al-Naqqash (1817-55), Ahmad Abu Khalil al-Qabbani (1851-?) and Ya’qub Sannu (1839-1912). Their plays and productions introduced the concepts of dramatic literature and spoken theatre to Egypt, Syria and Lebanon and through these countries to the rest of the region. Until their pioneering work, this type of verbal/ literary art was all but unknown.
