Dubai: The Dubai Festival for Youth Theatre, an initiative by the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), aimed at nurturing and promoting Emirati and UAE-based theatre talent, will feature five inspiring plays at its seventh edition.
Held under the patronage of Shaikh Majid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture, the Dubai Festival for Youth Theatre will feature five classical Arabic plays vying for top honours including: Jasmine Blossom by the Youth Theatre for the Arts; Drama Beggars by Baniyas Theatre; Another Face by Al Ahli Theatre; Domino by Dubai National Theatre; and Morning and Evening by the National Theatre of Ras Al Khaimah.
The Selection and Supervision Committee for the festival, headed by producer Hassan Ragab, and comprising theatre actor Abdullah Saleh, industry professional and ‘Personality of the Year’ at the 2011 edition, Yahya Al Haj, and actor, screenwriter, and author Ebrahim Salem, shortlisted five of 10 plays submitted this year to the festival.
Saeed Al Nabouda, Acting Director General, Dubai Culture, said: “With a focus on the Authority’s mandate to nurture and promote the Arabic language, this year, the Dubai Festival for Youth Theatre will present an unparalleled showcase of classical Arabic plays that underline the growth and maturity of our burgeoning theatre industry.”
Dubai Culture will also showcase a guest performance on October 19, by differently-abled actors, called Bab Al Baraha, which depicts the story of four old disabled men who live in an elderly home. Nurse Fatima who supervises the four men happens to share her sadness with their misery particularly after she has become a spinster; while Drama Beggars, directed by Hameed Al Mahri of Bani Yas Theatre is the story of two beggars who live in filth, when they encounter a thief looking for a place to hide, will be showcased on October 20.
Written by Ahmad Majid and directed by Morteza Juma, Jasmine Blossom by the Youth Theatre for the Arts is a tale of a couple stuck between their miserable past and unforeseen future; yet, they portray that love conquers all hurdles. The play will take place on October 22.
Amal, a spinster working in a ministry suffers from loneliness after the passing of her parents. She visualises herself being rescued from her misery by her groom, only to find that she has entered a state of delusion, in Another Face by Al Ahli Theatre, which will take place on October 23.
Morning and Evening by the National Theatre of Ras Al Khaimah reveals the story of two people who meet accidently. Without knowing what their future holds, the play is a self-exploration of human beings that face repression, will be showcased on October 24, along with Marwan Abdullah Saleh’s Domino, by Dubai National Theatre, on October 25, which takes place in a large dominoes’ box that constantly portrays movement.
