Economic Coercion and Ideological Control: Totalitarianism in Wajdi Al-Ahdal's Play A Crime at Restaurant Street

This paper analyses Wajdi Al-Ahdal’s A Crime at Restaurant Street through the lens of New Historicism. It explores how historical context and power dynamics shape the play’s characters and themes. It draws on the theoretical frameworks of Friedrich and Brzezinski’s principles of totalitarianism, to examine the mechanisms of ideological control, terroristic policing, economic monopolisation, and the centralisation of power in a kleptocratic regime. By contextualising the play within these frameworks, it investigates how the totalitarian system manipulates individuals psychologically and morally and how compels them to compromise their values for survival. The paper also delves into the emotional and psychological collapse experienced by characters like Abd al-Latif. It analyses his transformation under the regime’s coercive influence. It also highlights how A Crime at Restaurant Street reflects the connection between power, corruption, loyalty, and resistance within an oppressive system and illustrates the broader social impacts of totalitarianism on personal autonomy, morality, and human connections. Through this analysis, the paper illuminates the ways in which totalitarian regimes shape not only political structures but also the very psyche and identity of individuals living under their control.