She is the caring mother of Syrian drama, and one of its first pioneers, the elegant and intelligent presence, the lady of the Syrian theatre, always and forever warm, the kind and humble teacher, the great lady, with a bright white heart, and the bearer of noble values in life and art alike.
She is the distinguished Syrian artist Thanaa Debsi, who was buried in Damascus with great sadness and pain a few days ago, in the presence of a large presence of drama, cinema and theater makers, and a special presence of her fans, the people she spoke about repeatedly in her works, and she touched their pains and feelings and left them with sophisticated and creative art, and a great role model in all fields that they know well. And they respect her.
The late Thanaa Dibsi was born in the city of Aleppo in 1941 and passed away on February 20 at the age of 83 after suffering from a health problem.
During her preparatory school stage, she studied under the late musician Bahjat Hassan in the Popular Theater Club troupe, which held many artistic activities at that time. She also studied under Professors Muhammad Khairy and Ahmed Sabouni.
She began with her sister, the artist Tharaa Dibsi, by presenting theatrical performances on the stage of Dar al-Kutub Theater in Aleppo. She participated in artistic school concerts, and learned to dance the Samah, sing Aleppo stanzas and Qudud, and acting. She was also trained by her Arabic language professor in the art of speech and silence, and charging the voice with emotion and dressing it with personality traits. Which she performed, and later in her advanced period of life she studied theatrical arts at the Gerard Philippe Theater in France.
She began acting in the mid-fifties of the last century, and her beginning was through theater after she participated in establishing the Syrian National Theater with the artists Nihad Qalai, Abdul Latif Fathi, Mahmoud Jabr, and the writer Rafiq Al-Sabban in the early sixties.
She presented more than 16 theatrical performances for the national and military theatres, based on texts by Arab and foreign writers, but in 1978 she stopped theatrical work and returned to the stage in 2000 for the last time with the play “Takhareef” written by Colette Behna and directed by Maher Salibi with the late artist Abdel Rahman Abu Al-Qasim.
In 1961, the play “Chitra” by the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore was presented with director Ramzi Choucair and artist Abdel Rahman Al Rashi.
She played the lead role in important plays, including “Lady Windermere’s Fan” by the English-Irish playwright and novelist Oscar Wilde, directed by Hani Ibrahim Mansour, and “The Brothers Karamazov” by the Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky, directed by Asaad Fadda, and the play “Blood Wedding” by the Spanish writer Federico García Lorca, directed by Asaad Fadda also, and the plays “The Old Lady’s Visit” by the German novelist Friedrich Dürrenmatt, “The Trees Die Standing” by the Spanish poet and playwright Alejandro Casona, and “King Lear” by the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare. These plays were directed by Ali Oqla Arsan, in addition to her participation in the play “Ghosts.” ” by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, the play “The Man of Destiny” based on a text by the famous Irish author George Bernard Shaw, directed by Hani Ibrahim Mansour, and the play “The Miser” by the French poet and playwright Molière, directed by Hussein Idlibi.
The late artist was one of the founders of Syrian drama, and she initially worked in the field of what was called “television theater” at the time with director Salim Qataya. It was theater that was filmed in a studio as if it were being presented in front of an audience, due to the difficulty of re-filming at that time. Among the experiences that she starred in in this field, which merged television with theatrical: “The Infirmary,” “The Farewell Dinner,” “The Wax Man,” and “The Sea Riders.”
At the level of Syrian television drama, she presented dozens of deep and important characters that were entrenched in the viewer’s memory and conscience. Her first dramatic work on television was in 1963, the series “The Postman,” directed by Salim Qataya.
In the early seventies of the last century, she worked with the late director Alaeddin Koksh in many series, such as the historical series “The Green Princess,” written by Abdel Aziz Hilal. The suspense drama series “Haret Al Qasr” was written by Adel Abu Shanab, and she also worked with director Ghassan Jabri in the series “The Hotel.”
In the early nineties of the last century, with the flurry of private dramatic productions and the flurry of Arab satellite channels, the able artist appeared strongly in many series, including: the series “Al-Thuraya” with director Haitham Haqqi and writer Nihad Siris in the role of Hajja Amoun, and she played the role of the mother in the well-known series “Biography of the Al-Jalali family” by the novelist The late Khaled Khalifa and director Haitham Haqqi. In the series “Memories of the Next Time,” she embodied the character of a good Palestinian woman who yearns to return to her homeland and yearns for her martyr husband, while she suffers from memory loss and forgetfulness. The work was written by Reem Hanna and also directed by Haitham Haqqi.
She participated in the social series “Sticks of Tears” written by Dalaa Al-Rahbi and directed by Hatem Ali, and in the series “The Wolves” written by Abdel Karim Nassif, directed by Alaeddin Koksh, and “Abu Kamel” written by Dr. Fouad Sharbaji, also directed by Alaeddin Kokesh, and “The Iron Gate” directed by Radwan Shaheen and written by novelist Faisal Khartash. This is in addition to her participation in the series “Time of Shame”, written by Hassan Sami Youssef and Naguib Naseer and directed by Rasha Sharbatji, in which she also embodied the most important, deepest and most mature of her roles and enchanted the viewer with her ability to express without screaming, without talking or making noise, as she is the helpless, sick, silent mother who is exposed to death at the hands of her husband. . In addition to the social series “Daughters of the Family,” written by Rania Bitar and also directed by Rasha Sharbatji. In the series “Awlad Al-Qaymariya” written by Anoud Khaled and directed by Saif Al-Din Subaie, “Behind the Sun” written by Muhammad Al-Aas and directed by Samir Hussein, and “The Journey of the Missing” written by Daoud Sheikhani and directed by Salim Sabry. The series “Letters of Love and War” was written by Reem Hanna and directed by Basil Al-Khatib.
Her last artistic work is the series “Turjuman Al-Ashwaq”, in which the mother (Jamila) was a retired teacher who was waiting for the return of her absent son. She excelled in this role and was a real and convincing mother waiting for the return of her absence.
The able artist was a guest of honor in the series “The Four Seasons,” directed by Hatem Ali, with a screenplay and dialogue by Reem Hanna and Dalaa Al-Rahbi, in which she played her most beautiful role, “Miss Kifaya,” the educated, serious, and fair teacher who left a good impact on the souls of her students that accompanied them throughout their lives.
In 2006, Al-Qadeera played the role of Umm Ghadeer in the famous series “Gazelle in the Forest of Wolves” by writer Fouad Hamira and director Rasha Sharbatji, in which she embodied the character of a poor, patient woman and a widow who tries to protect her children from injustice and corruption and always urges them to morals and noble values.
In 2015, she participated in the series “The Godfather – Al-Sharq Club” in its first and second parts, which is based on the famous Mario Puzo novel, directed by Hatem Ali, written and screenplayed by Rafi Wahba, and the second part was written by the late Syrian novelist Khaled Khalifa.
As for her last artistic work, it is the series “Turjman Al-Ashwaq”, in which the mother (Jamila) was a retired teacher who lives in a majestic and old house and waits for the return of her absent son. She excelled in this role and was a real and convincing mother waiting for the return of the absence. The work is written and directed by Mohamed Abdel Aziz. .
“The late artist was one of the founders of Syrian drama, and she initially worked in the field of what was called at the time “television theater” with director Salim Qataya, which is theater that is filmed in a studio as if it were being presented in front of an audience.”
She also participated in Arab dramatic works with Egyptian television in the series “Al-Mutanabbi,” and presented works in Jordan that were described as important and different, such as “The Inheritance” and “The Cage” by directors Orwa Zureikat and Salah Abu Hanoud. She participated with the Lebanese director Antoine Remy in the series “Shajarat Al-Durr.” And “Sobh and Al-Mansour.”
On Damascus Radio, the able artist worked with the founder of radio drama in Syria, Marwan Abdel Hamid, and recorded dozens of hours of radio. She was distinguished by her voice, which was unlike any other voice, her correct pronunciation behind the microphone, and her ability to express the character as the listener imagines it with sound alone.
She was present with distinction in the cinematic scene, with the film “The Deceived” in 1973, which is considered one of the 100 most important Arab films in the history of Arab cinema, by the Egyptian director Tawfiq Saleh, based on the novel by the Palestinian writer Ghassan Kanafani, “Men in the Sun”, which deals with the consequences of the 1948 Nakba and the tragedies to which the Palestinians were exposed. From different generations and circumstances. And also her role in the film “The Resurrection of a City” 1989, directed by Basil Al-Khatib, which examines the history of Jerusalem. In the 1993 film “Al-Lajat” directed by Riad Shea, it was inspired by the novel “The Ascension of Death” by the Syrian novelist Mamdouh Azzam.
She played the starring role in two other films, the first titled “A Rain Story,” written by Muwafaq Masoud and directed by Maher Salibi, and the second, “A Little Time,” written and directed by Maher Salibi.
In theater, cinema and television, Debsi embodied the character of a compassionate mother, a strong mature woman, a caring and wise grandmother, a serious and humble teacher, and a struggling Palestinian woman. A number of critics have said that the artist Dibsi is distinguished throughout her long artistic history by high performance, and the ability of the voice to express the depths of the characters, in addition to the nobility of morals and biography that was written with water of gold.
The late artist won many awards and honors, including: the Best Actress Award for her role in the series “Awlad Al-Qaymariya,” and the Best Actress Award for her role in the series “Deer in the Forest of Wolves” from the Arab Television Festival. She was also honored at the Damascus Theater Festival in 2004 and within the Syrian Culture Celebration in 2020. She received the Best Actress Award from the Cairo International Film Festival and the Damascus Film Festival as well.
Artists mourned her with great sadness and pain as they remembered her sincere and eager love for others, her assistance to them, and her great contributions in the humanitarian and artistic fields.
The great artist, Mona Wassef, said: “I am saddened by your loss, O kind and warm one, and I am imprinting a kiss on your forehead and on your delicate hands. Great Mrs. Thanaa Debsi, for your soul, love and peace, and for your family, and for us solace and patience. Thanaa Debsi: I love you very much.”
Artist Firas Ibrahim said: “I will miss you, you beautiful, wonderful woman, just as I miss my mother.”
Artist Amal Arafa described her as noble and with high morals, in addition to having true feelings of tenderness.
As for director Mohamed Abdel Aziz, he wrote: “The ripe tree of life, nobility and uniqueness, purity, love, freedom and integrity, praise that remains in the memory of the soul, has illuminated and will illuminate screens and theater stages.”
The star, Jamal Suleiman, said: “When I was a young man dreaming of being an actor, I watched the great actress Thanaa Debsi on the stage of the Syrian National Theater in the play “Trees Die Standing.” It was one of the views that left a great impact on me. I witnessed the splendor of mastery, the greatness of performance, and the power of… The amazing presence, and despite the years that have passed, her voice and the spectrum of her image are still alive in my memory. Farewell, artist and woman who, with her talent, honesty, captivating personality, and nobility of morals, raised the status of art and artists in our country.”
As for her husband, the great and bereaved artist, Salim Sabry, he described it as a “life syndrome” for him, and he repeatedly announced before her death that Thanaa had a retinal injury and that he had offered the doctors to provide her with his eye to see with it, but that was not medically possible.
As for the late lady, she spoke in one of the video interviews about the death scene that she portrayed with amazing professionalism in the series “Time of Shame,” saying with all humility: “The script helped me with this performance. I loved the script and the character and I created all the conditions for me to succeed. When the atmosphere is positive, we must be creative.” “.
Goodbye, creator… “Death does not hurt the dead, death hurts the living.”