His Excellency Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Hamad Al Thani, the Minister of Culture, honored a group of theater pioneers and a number of members of theatrical groups in Qatar, during the official night of the 35th Doha Theater Festival, which witnessed the performance of “Fifty Years of Theatre”, the idea and poems facilitated by Abdullah and Abdul Rahim Al Siddiqi, composed by Talal Al-Siddiqi, directed by Nasser Abdel-Reda, sung by Rehab Malouk and Mishaal Al-Dosari, musical arrangement and execution by Nader Abdel-Salam, recorded at Al-Matar Studio, graphics by Abdel-Karim Abu Tayem, lighting by Omar Atrous, and sound by Aziz.
The ceremony began with a special video showing the harvest of the Theater Affairs Center during the past year 2022, followed by the “Fifty Years of Theatre” show, which reviewed the march of theatrical art in Qatar during the past 50 years, through some archival footage of a number of the most important and prominent works presented by theater stars in Qatar During his career, the show included lyrical and showy segments. The singer Mishaal Al-Dosari and the artist Rehab participated in the lyrical segments that permeated the show.
Afterwards, His Excellency the Minister of Culture honored each of: The artist Mohammad Abu Jasoun, the artist Ghazi Hussein, and the artist Hamad Abdel-Ridha. His Excellency also honored a group of artists who are members of the civil theater groups, who are they: Dr. Hassan Rashid, and the artist Saad Bakhit, and the artist Rashid were also honored. Al-Shayeb and the artist Ali Al-Khalaf from Doha theater group, and the artist Youssef Sultan and the artist Saadi Al-Shammari from the Al-Watan theater group.
The honorees expressed their happiness with this honor, pointing out to the importance of these honors in the artist’s life, as they serve as a strong incentive that drives the artist to continue and provide the best possible, valuing at the same time the support of His Excellency the Minister of Culture for the theatrical movement and the artists.
Regarding his participation in the singing segment, the singer and artist Mishaal Al-Dosari said that: I was chosen to participate in singing in front of His Excellency the Minister on the stage of Doha Theater Festival, and it is a great honor for me to participate in this important event as an actor and singer as well.
Regarding her participation in the official ceremony, the singer Rehab confirmed that her participation in the “Night of the Festival” is her first in Doha Theater Festival, and she said that: I feel great happiness and pride as I recorded my attendance on the stage of this festival, which was attended by the top theater stars in Qatar, as well as many artists and artistic talents. unique in the State of Qatar and the region.
Rehab indicated that she hopes that the show has won the admiration of the audience and that this night will be distinguished like the rest of the festival’s activities, which have so far achieved positive echoes on the artistic and public level.
During the feedback symposium for the play “Al-Tahesh”, the artist and director Saad Burshid confirmed that Doha Theater Festival in its thirty-fifth edition was able to gather a beautiful constellation of Arab directors and actors through the community theatre, while commenting on the play “Al-Tahesh” by the Yemeni community team.
Borshid praised the play’s team, and its Yemeni director, Safwat Al-Gashed, and said that the play reflected what the Yemeni people want and what they aspire to in terms of unity in their ranks, pointing out that the political projections employed in the work confirmed the same motive and even hinted that the false heroism is destined to disappear, and that the idiot who has become By pure coincidence, a legendary hero is nothing but a lie, which was soon exposed by the people of the city.
The follow-up session witnessed many discussions, as Dr. Hassan Rashid said that: The director, Safwat Al-Gashed, was associated with the writer, Dr. Abdel-Ghaffar Makkawi, and this is the second work in which this writer, who is associated with philosophy and exoticism, enters the field. He added by saying that: We were in this evening with a show in which the director was able to mix the human issue in the happy Yemen, pointing out that Safwat Al-Gashed was able to present to the audience a theatrical show in which he mixed politics, folklore and singing, paintings confirming the true unity of the Yemeni people, and he explained that there is prolongation in some scenes which the director had to shorten it in order for it to be more profound and impactful.
For his part, the Kuwaiti director Mohammad Al-Hamli said that the performance of the actors and the director’s great influence on the group is a musician of the first degree and loves rhythm greatly, and his sense as a director was present between one sentence and another in the play. Stressing that he was impressed by the performance of the actor Ali Saif, along with the artist Mishaal Al-Dosari, and the rest of the actors, with their varying performance.
One of the attendees said that Safwat Al-Gashed repeated the text of Dr. Abdel-Ghaffar Makkawi, in an aesthetic and visual way that pleased the audience and returned to the theater delightful images. One of them asked the following question: What does the “Tahesh” symbolize? Does it symbolize the challenges that Yemen is witnessing today? He added that some characters raise some confusions in understanding or in the projection and symbolism of some vocabulary and pointing out that the central character was not sufficiently present in the work. Impressions and observations about the work ranged from admirers to critics, and the feedback session concluded in an atmosphere of joy, as it was an occasion for playwrights to meet with each other at Doha Theater Festival.