Planning in Full Swing for 5th International Monodrama Festival in Fujairah

The 5^th International Monodrama Festival is being held in Fujairah on 20-28 January 2012.

Monodrama

The GM of the Fujairah Municipality, Mohammed Saif Al Afkham, also serves as the Director of Fujairah International Monodrama Festival. He said:

“The monodramas are basically a one-person show—either a man or a woman although there are usually others involved on the set and overseeing the sound. Several years ago when Fujairah was looking towards being more culturally active we saw that there was a niche not satisfactorily covered in the field of monodrama so since 2003, Fujairah has been serving as festival host every two years.”

International!

Mr. Al Afkham said that the Organizing Committee, presided over by the Chairman of Fujairah Culture and Media Authority, His Highness, Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamad Al Sharqi, has received over 80 CDs from people indicating their interest in performing in Fujairah. They include actors from England, Egypt, Russia, Kosovo, India and Japan.

The last festival in 2010 showcased dramatic talent from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Tunisia, Russia, Lebanon, USA, Palestine, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Jordan, Switzerland as well as the UAE.

The committee is currently reviewing all material supplied by the applicants and will in due course publicize the list of performers for the January 2012 festival.

5^th Monodrama Festival

The 5^th Fujairah International Monodrama Festival is part of the work of the Fujairah Culture and Media Authority that was founded by a decree of the Ruler of Fujairah with the goal of “raising the level of performance and contributing to achieve cultural and media life, aimed to support human development according to the Arab and Islamic tradition.”

Fujairah Base for International Theatre-UNESCO

The last festival in 2010 also saw the hosting of the first meeting of the Arab Council for the International Theatre Body UNESCO after it chose Fujairah as its centre for coordinating dramatic activities in the Arab world.

The International Monodrama Forum (IMF) is a network of theatre festivals from around the world that promotes the arts and artists involved in productions with a single performer.

Currently, Mohammed Al Afkham, is the President of this body and board.

In turn, the IMF is under the umbrella of the International Theatre Institute (ITI), the world organization for the performing arts that is part of the work of UNESCO.

Contact and More Information

Fujairah International Monodrama Festival website.

Fujairah Culture and Media Authority

Executive Manager, Ibrahim Allan: +971 9 2222678

Email: Ibrahim@fcma.gov.ae

Geoff Pound

More Fujairah news, information, resources and photos are posted on the Fujairah in Focus Facebook Page.

Images: Some of the actors who performed at the last Fujairah International Monodrama Festival.