Muhammad Abdel Samie (Sharjah)
Under the generous patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, the thirty-third session of Sharjah Theater Days will begin next Saturday evening, with the participation of (12) theatrical performances, and in the presence of theater artists and researchers from various parts of the Arab world.
Maryam Makhlouf, a member of the festival’s media committee, indicated during a press conference that this session comes on three tracks: the “competition track,” the “out-of-competition track,” in addition to the “hosted performances” track. The new session will open at the Palace of Culture Theater with the play “Taknaza… The Story of Tuda” by the Moroccan Fawanis Ensemble on the occasion of its winning of the “Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi Award for Best Arab Theatrical Work,” organized by the Arab Theater Authority. The activities of its last session took place in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, in Last January.
Makhlouf added: The opening ceremony will also witness the coronation of the winner of the Sharjah Award for Arab Theatrical Creativity in its seventeenth session, who is the distinguished Omani artist Fakhriya Khamis. The distinguished Emirati artist Abdullah Rashid is also celebrated in the ceremony as the “Honored Local Personality” for this session.
Regarding the performances that will be presented within the framework of the Sharjah Theater Days Competition in its thirty-third session, there are seven performances.
Makhlouf added: In the non-competition track, two performances were chosen: the play “Zaghrouda” by the Kalba Folklore and Theater Society, written by Ali Jamal and directed by Abdul Rahman Al Mulla. The play “Ashes” by the Fujairah Theater Group, written by Abdul Amir Shamkhi and directed by Saeed Al Harsh.
Regarding the cultural and intellectual program accompanying the thirty-third session, Maryam Al-Muaini, Head of the Media Committee, said: The intellectual forum accompanying this session comes under the title “Theatrical Directing between Influence and Influence,” and seeks to explore the boundaries between what is created and what is followed in theatrical direction, and to discuss how it responds. The director wanted to create his own artistic impact.
Al-Muaini added: One of the most prominent activities that the session will witness is the “Sharjah Award for Arab Theatrical Creativity,” which was won in its seventeenth session by the artist Fakhriya Khamis. And the 12th Sharjah Forum for Pioneers of Arab Theater, which annually celebrates the outstanding students of theatrical academies.
