JEDDAH, 30 August 2005 — For the crowds at the recent Jeddah Summer Festival, the light, whimsical comedies presented featuring Egyptian writers and mostly Egyptian actors were designed to get a smile, but for serious Saudi actors left standing in the wings the festival was a tragedy and no laughing matter.
The plays, staged at recreation centers, funfairs and sometimes shopping malls, don’t include more than one or two Saudi actors at most; the rest of the cast come from Egypt to take part. Moreover, the drama branch of the Saudi Arabian Society of Arts and Culture was left out of the limelight completely during the recent festival.
A society spokesperson blames the festival organizers for the lack of support. Abdullah Bahattab, drama branch manager at the society, said he approached organizers three years ago with one of the society’s plays on a recording. Despite an initial favorable response in which the festival committee agreed to include a drama among the events, society members were disappointed to learn that they would be responsible for the financial support of the production, prompting the dramatists to seek more realistic offers elsewhere.
“We can present our plays outside the festival; we don’t need them,” Bahattab said. “They need us to show true Saudi drama.”
The Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), when contacted for its reaction, asked Arab News to get in touch with ARA media company, which has been organizing the event for the past two years. ARA failed to respond to Arab News despite repeated calls.
Perhaps that is one reason the theater struggles in the Kingdom. “People go there attracted by the names of the famous Egyptian actors,” he said. “I don’t mean to lecture people on drama or tell them what to display, but they should give us fair chances and let the people decide for themselves.”
Watching the hastily staged, often unrehearsed farces is grating for the Saudi actors.
“I have seen some of these commercial plays,” said actor Khaled Al-Harbi. “They don’t have any value or message in them. It is strictly business devoid of any artistic sense.”
It becomes a question of whether the festival is highlighting Egyptian culture or Saudi culture. “We rehearse at the society before performing any play for a period of time that lasts to 12 continual hours for little amounts of money,” said dramatist Othman Falatah.
Actors from the Society of Arts and Culture say they want to present something of depth to the audience. Actor Yasin Abuljadayel called on the owners of these places to emphasize more on the essence rather than profits. “If given a chance we Saudi actors could stage plays that have some meaning while also being profitable for their owners,” he said. This compromise would help build Saudi drama.
Some Egyptians would even take issue with calling the farces Egyptian culture.
Ahmad Sherif, an Egyptian resident in Jeddah, noted that in Egypt, they referred to summer commercial plays season as “Arab Season” indicating they are designed for Arab tourists who are looking for cheap comedy without any dramatic depth.
“It is shameful to see that Saudis copy the bad drama and forget about the genuine Egyptian plays,” Sherif said.
So if you’d like to see a work of Jeddah actors and playwrights, it’s easy — just travel to Abha, Taif or Buraidah or perhaps Tunisia.
The Jeddah Branch of the Saudi Society of Culture and Arts earlier this summer participated at the Saudi Cultural Days in Tunisia with a play called “The Other Door.”
And for those who tout the importance of Saudi culture, it may present a difficult choice between domestic drama or imported laughs. “To be, or not to be” may be the question that needs to be answered.
