Egypt’s Acting Minister of Culture Abdel Aziz Konsowa inaugurated the 19th National Festival of Egyptian Theatre at the Cairo Opera House, marking the first time the event has expanded its activities outside the capital to the city of Mansoura to achieve cultural decentralisation.
The festival, which runs until August 11 under the slogan “The National Theatre Festival in All of Egypt,” aims to spread theatrical arts across the country and features performances representing official, independent, university, and private theatre sectors.
Konsowa, who also serves as Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, stated that the ministry is open to initiatives that consolidate creative values to create a collective mind capable of confronting destructive ideas. He noted that the ministry is working on comprehensive methodologies to discover talent, refine creative abilities, and preserve Egyptian identity.
“Cultural justice is not a slogan, but a practical practice we seek to consolidate,” Konsowa said, explaining the decision to extend the festival to Mansoura in the Dakahlia Governorate. He described the theatre as a pillar for shaping awareness, building individuals, and supporting Egypt’s soft power.
Festival Director Adel Abdo outlined the scale of this year’s edition, noting that approximately 20,000 students applied for workshops in Cairo and Mansoura. The Mansoura programme featured 72 events, including workshops for persons with disabilities, masterclasses, and three theatrical performances that concluded with “Hawatid” by director Khaled Galal.
Abdo added that the official competition received 126 performance submissions, with 35 qualifying for the main contest and three participating on the margins. The festival also received 216 scripts, 40 critical articles, and 22 theoretical research papers, and is hosting 23 intellectual seminars and 11 workshops in Cairo.
During the opening ceremony, which was hosted by Riham Ibrahim and featured a performance titled “Travel” directed by Walid Aouni, Konsowa honoured several theatre pioneers. The honourees included actors Esaad Younes, Shahira, Ahmed Abdel Aziz, and Ahmed Maher; critic Hamdy El-Gabry; and directors Magdy Megahed and Ahmed El-Banhawy.
Festival President Mohamed Riad described the theatre as a nation’s memory, a society’s conscience, and the voice of the human being, praising the audience as the primary pillar for the art form’s continuity.
The official competition jury is headed by Khaled Galal and includes Ahlam Younes, Aida Fahmy, Amr Abdallah El-Sherif, Mohamed Zaki, Mahmoud Talaat, Ahmed Abu El-Ela, and rapporteur Mahmoud Hassan.
The viewing committee, led by Hassan El-Wazir, includes Bassem Sadek, Mahmoud Fouad Sedky, Manar Zein, and Haidy Abdel Khalek. The playwriting committee is headed by Mohamed Abdel Hafez Nassef alongside Mohamed Bahgat and Mohamed Samir El-Khatib, while the critical article and theoretical research committee is chaired by Hamdy El-Gabry with members Mohamed Zaeema and Gerges Shoukry.
The official poster, designed by Hesham Ali, was selected by a committee headed by Walid Kanoush and comprising Mohamed El-Gharbawy, Samir Shaheen, Hazem Shebl, and Ahmed Nour.
Konsowa thanked Dakahlia Governor Tariq Marzouk and Mansoura University President Sherif Khater for supporting the festival’s regional expansion. He highlighted that this year’s edition places a special focus on Egyptian playwrights and the expansion of training programmes to prepare a new generation of theatre practitioners.
