The Ministry of Culture’s Theater Affairs Center launched “Playwriter in a Week,” an initiative that aims to shed light on the pioneers of Qatari theater. The initiative uses social media platforms to commemorate those pioneers and celebrate their contributions. The first theater pioneer to be profiled is Abdul Rahman Al-Manaey. The initiative is part of the Theater Affairs Center’s on-going efforts to enrich the Qatari theater movement. Another initiative involves digitizing the Qatari theater archival materials since 1970 to serve scholars and researchers interested in Qatari theater. Over 50% of the materials have already been digitized in addition to materials documenting the efforts of local theater groups.
Qatar Theater is another initiative by the Theater Affairs Center. It aims to develop a platform and an application that allows users to learn about the history of Qatari theater, watch early plays in a digital format, and purchase theater tickets through cellphones and smart devices. Another initiative is Broadcast which profiles Qatari theater pioneers. The first episode is about late theater actor Abdul Aziz Jassim, and another one focuses on Mohammed Boujassoum.
In the same context, the Theater Affairs Center plans to continue offering training workshops as well as theater performances throughout the new theater season, which started at the Doha International Book Fair with the opening show Al-Asmaey Baqouh. Moreover, the center recently announced that the new theater season will include eight new plays by local theater companies. These include some plays for children and a new edition of the University Theater Festival, in which six university theater groups are participating.