Dibba Al Hisn Duo Theater Festival continues its activities

Dibba Al-Hisn, May 23, WAM / The activities of the ninth session of the Duo Theater Festival continued this evening at the Cultural Center in Dibba Al-Hisn, in the presence of Ahmed Burahima, Director of the Theater Department at the Sharjah Department of Culture, Director of the Festival, and a number of local and Arab specialists.

The audience on the second day witnessed the Egyptian play “Dahab” by the “Egyptian Artists for Culture” troupe, directed and written by Amr Kabil, who also participated in acting in it alongside the child “Dana.”

The coincidence in this show brings together a man escaping from a painful past that caused him to isolate himself from people, and a lost girl who is sad because the people closest to her have forgotten her. The dialogue between them begins heatedly, especially because of the man’s feeling that his isolation has been invaded, but they soon become accustomed to each other, and the music of the harmonica that the man owns becomes the key to their bond. The state of alienation disappears and they begin communication that will lead by the end of the show until they discover that they can confront their fears and pain by returning home.

The critical symposium moderated by Egyptian artist Iman Imam praised the dramatic approach that touched on two issues related to two groups in society. They are young and old, and most of the interventions praised the child’s distinguished acting presence and emotional stability in a show that lasted about sixty minutes, and asked questions to the show’s creator about the challenges resulting from his combination of writing, directing, and acting.

Director Amr Kabil thanked the festival management and appreciated his unique idea, noting that the duo theater represented an enjoyable adventure. He expressed his appreciation for all the comments made by the symposium, which concluded with Nada Abdullah Al-Hassani, representative of the Department of Social Services, Dibba Al-Hisn Branch (the sponsor of the second day), presenting a certificate of appreciation to the Egyptian band.

The second day of the festival began with the first sessions of the 21st Sharjah Arab Theater Forum, which came under the slogan “Theater and Education.” Its sessions were moderated by Emirati artist Faisal Al Darmaki, who praised the initiatives of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, to establish and support the school theater experience locally and in the Arab world.

The first intervention at the forum was titled “Theatre and Education: From Philosophical Intertwining to Aesthetic Identification,” and was presented by Dr. Saeed Karimi (Morocco), who shed light on the historical and philosophical beginnings of the organic relationship between theatrical art and the educational system from the Greek era until the modern era.

Karimi reviewed the role of educational theater and its applications in awakening the recipient’s critical sense, then moving on to dissect the reality of school theater in the Moroccan context.

He called for the need to formulate clear institutional policies to integrate theatrical arts into the official curricula as an urgent educational necessity for building good and active citizens.

Under the title “Theatre as an Educational Medium: The Duality of Pedagogy and Art,” the second paper was presented by Dr. Mohamed Amin Benyoub (Morocco), who called for moving educational theater from traditional, dry indoctrination methods to the space of live experience and active participation of the learner.

Beniyoub explained that dramatic play and theatrical action within educational and university institutions is an exceptional educational medium because of its ability to liberate the latent energies of young people, refine their personalities, and rid them of problems such as fear, introversion, and hesitation.

The third intervention was entitled “The Educational Function of Arab Theater in Light of Digital Transformation” and was presented by Dr. Fawzia Dhifallah (Tunisia), in which she discussed how digital media has influenced the awareness of the new generation, pointing to the necessity of renewing the educational mechanisms of theater to be in line with the language of the digital age without compromising its living human essence.

As part of the training workshops programme, the second day of the festival witnessed the workshop “Theatrical Composition: From Idea to Text”, which was supervised by Dr. Kamal Khalladi (Morocco). Its theoretical part was devoted to asking questions about the nature, methodologies and contents of writing for school theatre, while the applied part began with answering the question: How do we write a text for school theatre?

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