After traveling through various Arab cities, the Arab Theater Festival has arrived for the first time in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, for its fourteenth edition, which started today, Wednesday, and will continue until January 18. The festival, founded and organized by the Arab Theater Authority based in Sharjah, is held annually in a different country. This edition features 19 plays, including 13 in the official competition and five plays out of competition, in addition to a play from Palestine titled "Metro Gaza," which will be presented after the opening ceremony.
Iraq is participating in the official competition with three plays: "The House of Abu Abdullah," directed by Anas Abdul Samad; "Happy Life," directed by Kadhim Nasar; and "Willow," directed by Ali Abdul Nabi Al-Zaydi.
The jury is chaired by Syrian actor Ayman Zidan, with members including Egyptian academic Samah Maheran, Palestinian actor Hussam Abu Aisha, Libyan playwright Ali Al-Falah, and Lebanese playwright Hisham Zain Al-Din.
The opening ceremony included a performance titled "Stations of Love and Peace" featuring 86 Iraqi artists, and Lebanese actress Nidal Ashkar delivered the "Arab Theater Day Message," which is celebrated on January 10 each year.
During the opening held at the National Theater, 23 Iraqi theater artists were honored, including actress Suha Salem, actor Munadel Dawood, critic Yasser Al-Barak, director Karim Rashid, actor Raed Mohsen, actress Iqbal Naeem, and writer Mithal Ghazi.
Ismail Abdullah, the Secretary-General of the Arab Theater Authority, stated during the opening: "Today in Baghdad, we raise the banner of theater as a triumph for beauty, truth, and goodness, a triumph for life against death, and to declare our worthiness for life and creativity. The creative spirit of Arabism is alive and will not die, despite all who wish for its disappearance."
He added, "We, the theater people, create our dream from the heart of our wound, we believe it and allow it to be realized, and we carry it forth to the end, believing firmly in keeping the flame of awareness and leadership alive, for we are the banner when all banners tremble, and we are the insight when awareness is shadowed by darkness, and we are the word when fear silences tongues and voices."
He continued, "Theater is not a statement or a slogan; it is deeper and nobler than that. It is a constant intellectual position, and the theater person is committed to life. The theater person carries the torch of enlightenment, and people walk according to its guidance."
Later today, the festival will host a seminar titled "The Theater and Cultural Resistance in Palestine," as well as a special seminar for Iraqi theater artists in exile titled "Influence and Impact," featuring 13 Iraqi artists.
