El Sawy Theater Festival offers platform for all to try their hand at theater CAIRO: The Fourth Sawy Theater Festival, which started on Sunday, August 13 and is scheduled to continue until Thursday, Aug. 17, has come to reflect the current state of Egyptian theater with all its trends and drawbacks. Before the launch of the festival, two initial phases were completed. The first stage involved reading the scripts of participating works and excluding those that did not meet the festival s standards. The second stage involved a ten-minute showing of each play. Out of these plays, ten were selected to officially run in the festival, with two plays showing on stage every day starting from 7 p.m. The chosen ten plays are: Al-Moutalawenin, Ana We Ana, Ensou Hirostrat, El-Nas Elly Taht Taht, Lahazat, Al-Muhager, Oghneiya Ala Al-Mamr, Elli Fahim Ye'oul, Electra, and Sayedat Al-Fagr. Due to the current situation in the Middle East the overwhelming majority of the plays carried a political theme. In doing so, directors have turned to Greek masterpieces, Pharaonic mythology and Egyptian folklore. There were also a few plays that dealt with social issues as well as the usual existential questions that are tackled in absurd theater and meta-fictional plays. In line with the inclusion policies of El Sawy Cultural Center, around 80 percent of the participants were amateurs going through one of their first stage experiences or aficionados who do not plan to specialize in the field. Amr Saber, a lawyer, is one of the actors in Mat Al-Malik (The King Has Died), a play about the traditional struggle of evil and good forces over the rule of a country. Though he is not planning on taking up acting as a career, Saber, who has always been a member of his school's and then his college's acting troupe, is deeply in love with anything that has to do with the theater. "I love working with my friends and producing a work that has meaning and even if we don't win we'll participate next year, he said. The fact that most of the actors are amateurs has resulted in mostly mediocre acting, while a few of the political plays were too direct, almost didactic. According to Abdel Latif Al-Shitewi, a jury member who wasn't pleased with the standards this year, the main reason behind this is the lack of innovation. "The works participating are mostly conventional, whether on the level of the text or the acting or anything to do with the overall production of the work, Al-Shitewi said. After explaining that the festival is an effective step and an important achievement in the field of the Egyptian theater because it offers anyone interested in the theater a chance to participate and exhibit their talents, Al-Shitewi makes a few suggestions as to what should be done to improve the standard of the troupes that will participate in the years to come. "Before allowing the troupes to participate, a specialized supervisor should be hired to help everybody directing the play with tips and advice, Al-Shitewi said, adding, "There should also be theatrical workshops that would help improve the standard of acting. According to Ahmed Ramzy, the coordinator of the festival, the reason for the lower standard of plays participating this year in comparison to the past three years is that the actors and directors who were distinguished and won prizes in the previous festivals have moved on to the more specialized and professional festivals held by the state. This, however, does not bother him. "What we aim at is to give the chance for everyone, whether amateur or professional, to show his work. We want to help discover the talented and in so doing we aim ultimately to help improve the theatrical scene in Egypt, Ramzy said. In spite of all these problems, several actors were quite promising and a few plays were of very good quality both on the levels of direction and dialogue as well as in their innovative techniques. One such play is Al-Moutalawenin, written and directed by Amr Al-Bahr, who has been participating in experimental theater for almost 18 years during which he has won tens of prizes and had one of his plays performed in France. This play, which falls under the genre of psychodrama, delves into the soul of its characters, revealing their personality through the use of modern dance techniques and symbolism. For further details regarding the festivals, please contact El Sawy Culture Center at (02) 736-8881 or (012) 440-0100
