Masyaf Theater Festival  

After years of hiatus due to the war, the Masyaf Theater Festival returns to launch its new theatrical performances and distinguished activities on the stage of the Arab Cultural Theater in the city of Masyaf, and to prove that despite the years of war, Masyaf was and still is a city that embraces culture, theatre and literature.

The Masyaf Theater Festival, organized by the Directorate of Theaters and Music in cooperation with the Directorate of Culture and the National Theater in Hama Governorate, was launched on the stage of the Arab Cultural Center in Masyaf.

The activities of the 10th edition of the festival continued for four days, during which various theatrical performances from various Syrian governorates were presented.

The festival was opened with a theatrical performance by director Ali Abdul Hamid, a native of Masyaf, who presented a play entitled “Masyafiya Theatrical Snapshots.”

On the second day, director Muhannad Zaidani presented the play “A Club for Laughter,” and on the third day, the festival presented a new experience on the Masyaf stage, which was “the table theater” entitled “The Fall of the Horse,” directed by Abdul Karim Omrein.

The festival concluded with a play entitled “The Two Witnesses” by director Wajib Darzi, who presented the text of his play through an actor preparation course and chose 15 young men and women from the city of Masyaf who are studying in various universities in Syria, in order to give them the opportunity to showcase their talents in front of the Masyaf audience.

Syria Times newspaper met with Mr. Sami Taha, Director of Culture and Director of the National Theater in Hama Governorate. He said: “We are very happy on the occasion of the revival of the Masyaf Theater Festival, which witnesses brilliance day after day through the shows and the audience.

The shows presented during the festival are rich, whether by attracting young talent or by shedding light on the city of Masyaf. He added “it is impressive that this great audience always comes to attend the festival and support it”.

In an interview, Ali Abdul Hamid, the director of the Voice of the Theater Troupe, said that “the show we presented is a combination of a group of scenes that were presented during the shows in previous sessions of the festival, as a kind of carnival celebration.”

“We combined poetry with live music and drawing, in addition to folklore, through which we focused mainly on the zamar and drum instruments, because the zamar is an ancient instrument that is on the verge of extinction, so we tried to attract the attention of young people to it, hoping that they would be encouraged and learn to play this ancient heritage instrument,”

The festival witnessed a large turnout from the audience, specifically from the people of Masyaf city, and from different age groups, who expressed their great admiration for the distinguished performances and young talents that presented themselves during the festival.

Among the audience was Mrs. Orwba Mahfouz, a member of the People’s Assembly, who said, “We are very happy to see these young talents and their distinguished performances, and we are proud to hold this theatrical event in the city of Masyaf. We were and will remain supporters of the young talents of the people of the city of Masyaf.”

In conclusion, we met Mrs. Buthaina Hassan, Director of the Arab Cultural Center in Masyaf, she said: “The Masyaf Theater Festival is not new. We have previously been honored to host the festival for 8 sessions, but due to the war, the festival was suspended for years. Then efforts were intensified to revive this festival, which is considered as a unique and distinguished cultural event.

Report and photos by Souha Suleiman