EGYPT: Sixth annual theatre festival in Cairo honours professional and amateur Arab theatre efforts

Egypt holds its sixth annual theatre festival in Cairo. Organised by the Egyptian Society for Amateur Theatre Enthusiasts, this year's festival, entitled 'Arab Theatre Protecting Arab Identity', provides a platform from which Arab artists may be recognised and honoured for their efforts in the world of theatre. The sixth annual festival celebrating amateur Arab theatre is underway in Cairo, but the participants are far from amateur. The event has drawn theatre professionals from around the Arab world, who have gathered to pay tribute to their craft. The festival, organized by the Egyptian Society for Amateur Theatre Enthusiasts, will see thirteen nights of performances in various locations around the city over the festival's ten days. Professional and amateur theatre troupes from around the Arab world will be represented, although Egypt is only being represented by amateur performers. This year's festival opened with the play, Hara Am Naguib, by Egyptian director Ahmed Halawa. Dr. Amr Dawara, one of the organisers, explained that the theme for this year's festival was the preservation of Arab identity. "Last year the title was 'Arabic Theatre Facing Challenges'. This year our slogan is 'Arab Theatre Protecting Arab Identity.' So I think with this slogan we are confirming our Arab identity, we are confirming the role that theatre plays in serving society. As amateurs, we must present both thought and entertainment," he said. This year's festival saw a heavy focus on theatre with a political or social message, with special attention given to Israel's invasion of Lebanon last summer. The honorary president of the festival, Mohammad Sobhi, is an actor and novelist known for his strong opinions on the Arab-Israeli conflict and for his opposition to Zionism. Sobhi wrote and starred in Horseman Without a Horse, a TV series about early Zionism that critics in the West accused of being anti-Semitic. Sobhi said that art could be an important buffer against the political pressures the Arab world faces from without. "The slogan 'Arab Theatre Protecting Arab Identity' in my opinion, I think this is the one remaining straw that we are holding on to amidst aggressive waves of pressure to change the term 'Arab Homeland' to the 'Greater Middle East' so that it will be sullied by the inclusion of Israel," he said. A number of the Arab world's most famous theatre actors will be recognized over the course of this year's festival. On the opening night Egyptian actress Layla Taher was honoured for her long and distinguished career. "This award makes me very happy, particularly after many years of working in theatre, the theatre that I love and adore. I have worked within most fields of theatre and cinema and television however the theatre has a special place in my heart," she said. Egypt has historically been the cultural focal point for art in the Arab world, as reflected in the size of the theatre industry. According to estimates by the festival organizers there are 4,500 amateur theatre professionals in Egypt and around 350 theatre troupes. Famous Kuwaiti actor Mansour Mansour, who was also recognized, paid tribute to Egypt's legacy in promoting the arts in the Arab world. "In fact, I am being honour by Egypt, Arab Egypt, the capital of Arab culture Arab arts. Any Arab artist who has been successful in his field and regardless of what his background is, will find roots in Egyptian arts," he said. There is at the moment no annual festival for Egypt's professional theatre industry, although many luminaries from the industry have helped in the promotion of the amateur theatre festival. An annual festival for experimental theatre has been held for the last eighteen years.

ITN Source | March 11, 2007

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