Sharjah : Theatres Group recently launched its upcoming festival at a press conference last week. The Sharjah University Theatre Festival will be the first of its kind to take place in the emirate. It will serve to raise the level of theatre activity in Sharjah by preparing a new generation of young theatrical talents.

The festival is expected to kick off in April next year at the Cultural Palace in Sharjah. However, preparations for the event are already in progress. For the first round of the festival, ten universities and colleges have collaborated with Sharjah Theatres Group.

Benefits of the festival

"The festival is the best opportunity for students to participate, gain experience and allow them to develop their personality," Mohammad Hamdan Bin Jarsh, the director of Sharjah Theatres Group said.

With the different skills and knowledge students already possess and will be developing, the festival will highlight and promote their talents in the region, he added.

The ten universities will be competing against each other by performing plays in Arabic. "The best way to enhance the Arabic language is through competitions like this," Bin Jarsh said about focusing on the national language.

However, he added that in future the theatre festival may accommodate other languages.

Other factors of the festival, announced at the press conference, include forming different committees that will review the plays each university will perform. "They can't just perform any play", Bin Jarsh said. He explained that especially in Sharjah, cultural and ethical issues had to be taken into consideration.

Assessing the event

Since this festival has just been launched, Bin Jarsh said the results of the event will be evaluated in order to improve the event in the future. "When assessing the pros and cons of the festival, we have to think globally and act locally."

Not only about theatrical talent

Bin Jarsh also announced that the theatre festival will not only be presenting students with theatrical talents but students with various other talents as well.

Students in any non-theatrical field can display their work at the entrance of the hall where they will be able to interact with the public. In this way, the festival will also be focusing on the talents, knowledge, creativity and cultural aspects of multinational people gathered in one place.