The Arab Theatre Festival is set to honour 17 prominent Egyptian theatre figures during its 16th edition, which will be held in Cairo from January 10 to 16. The announcement was made by playwright Ismail Abdullah, Secretary General of the Arab Theatre Authority, during a press conference held on Monday at the Supreme Council of Culture. The festival is organised by the authority in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Culture.

Speaking at the event, which was attended by festival general coordinator Khaled Galal along with a large number of Egyptian theatre artists and critics, Abdullah said Egypt’s hosting of the festival for the third time, following the 2009 and 2019 editions, reaffirms its historic standing as a central hub of Arab theatre.

He noted that the decision to honour 17 Egyptian figures reflects the country’s enduring contributions to theatrical creativity and its influential role in shaping the Arab theatre movement over decades. Ismail Abdullah conveyed the greetings of His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and Supreme President of the Arab Theatre Authority, to the festival’s participants, affirming his continuous support to Arab theatre.

The festival’s opening ceremony will be held at the Grand Theatre of the Cairo Opera House on January 10, which coincides with Arab Theatre Day. This year, the festival will honour 17 prominent Egyptian figures: Mohamed Sobhi, Ahmed Bedir, Abbas Ahmed, Dr Abu Al Hassan Salam, Dr Osama Abu Taleb, actress Firdous Abdel Hamid, playwright Bahig Ismail, Dr Galal Hafez, Dr Samira Mohsen, directors Essam El Sayed, Nasser Abdel Moneim and Murad Mounir, critic Abdel Razzaq Hussein, critic Abla El Rouini, writer Fatima Al Maadoul, Dr Mohamed Shiha, and set designer Noha Barada.

The festival will also honour five organizations and institutions selected by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. They include the Egyptian Society for Theatre Amateurs, the Church Theatre, the independent group (Al Warsha), The Artistic Creativity Centre, and Theatre Clubs in Popular Culture.

Ismail Abdullah, the festival director, also announced the members of the festival’s jury. The jury will be chaired by Palestinian actor Kamel El Basha, with members including Sudanese actor Ali Mahdi, Omani theatre artist Murshid Raqi, Syrian actress Nada Hamssi, Bahraini artist Yousef Al Hamdan, and Libyan artist Ali Al Fallah, who will serve as rapporteur.

The festival will feature 15 theatrical productions from 10 countries, competing for the Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qasimi Award for Best Theatrical Production. The performances represent a wide range of artistic schools and theatrical styles, reflecting the diversity of contemporary Arab theatre.

Alongside the performances, the festival will host an intellectual symposium titled “Towards a Scientific Foundation for the Arab Theatre Criticism Project”. The symposium will bring together more than 20 researchers, with peer reviewed papers presented by 12 researchers.

As part of its accompanying cultural programme, the Arab Theatre Authority will publish 10 printed books by Egyptian authors. In addition, two encyclopaedic volumes on actors and actresses in Egypt, prepared by the late Dr Omar Dawara, will be released, along with a volume on Arab theatre laboratories by the late Dr Abdulrahman Arnous.