Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) announced the programme of theatrical performances that have been selected to participate in the 12th edition of Dubai Festival for Youth Theatre held from 19 – 25 November at ‘The Theatre’ in Mall of the Emirates. The Authority invites everyone to participate in this annual youth festival by keeping up with and encouraging the performances.

Fatma Al Jallaf, Acting Director of the Performing Arts Department at Dubai Culture, affirmed that the committee entrusted to view, evaluate and select the performances, which included Dr Habib Ghuloom (President), artist Mohammed Saeed Al Salti (member) and artist Bassem Daoud (Member), completed viewing and evaluating 14 theatrical performances that were submitted for the competition and selected six of them that were most in line with the required criteria. She expressed her confidence that the performances will be enjoyed by audiences in the UAE, citizens and residents alike.

Al Jallaf added: “We express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to all who applied to participate in this edition of the festival as well as to the performance evaluation committee for their efforts during the selection process; their task was not easy due to the distinction of all the submitted works and their relative closeness to keeping pace with the specified standards. We wish the selected teams’ success in bringing out their best energies and creativity, and we will ensure to encourage and support them with the necessary guidance from experts in this field. We invite all theatre enthusiasts, whether adults or children, to enjoy these rich performances.”

The festival’s performances will commence on Friday, 19 November with an opening ceremony on the main stage at ‘The Theatre’ in Mall of the Emirates from 7:30 – 8p.m., followed by the first theatrical performance from 8 – 9 p.m. titled ‘A true Feminine Rib’ (Dole’ Moa’nath Salem) by Dibba Society for Culture Arts and Theatre. The play is written by young Emirati artist Abeer Al Jassmi and directed by rising actor and director Mohamed Juma Ali and will be followed by a seminar addressing its content from 9:10 – 9:30p.m.

On Saturday, 20 November, 8 – 9 p.m., audiences will enjoy a performance titled ‘The Escape’ (Al Farar) presented by the Fujairah Theatre, written by Ahmed Saleh Mahdi and directed by Hussein Karam; it will be followed by a seminar addressing its content from 9:10 – 9:30 p.m.

On 21 November, 8 – 9 p.m., the play ‘The Box’ (Al Sandouq) will take to the stage, written by Sheikha Sarah Al Qasimi, directed by artist Abdullah Al Huraibi, and presented by the Shamal Society for Arts, Folk Heritage and Theatre, followed by seminar addressing the content of the play.

On Monday, 22 November, a special event will be held from 7 – 8p.m. to honour the theatrical personality of the year, followed by a performance of the play ‘Without a Cover’(BilaGhata’a) performed by the Khorfakkan Theatre group from 8 – 9p.m., written by Taghreed Al-Daoud and directed by Yassin bin Saleh;it will be followed by a seminar addressing its content.

On 23 November, the main stage will witness a performance of the play ‘Wanted for Waste’(MatloublilZebala) presented by the Yas Theatre group, written by Kuwaiti writer Othman Al-Shatti and directed by artist Khamis Al-Yamahi, followed by an applied seminar for the play. The last play will be performed on 24 November from 8 – 9p.m. titled ‘There is Water in my mouth,’(Fi Fami Maa’) written by writer Saud Al Zarooni, directed by Abdullah Al Muhairi, and presented by the Dubai National Theatre group, it will be followed by a seminar addressing its content.

The festival will conclude on25 November with an awards ceremony on the main stage, comprising 16 prizes to celebrate various components of the theatre, including acting, directing, writing, designing, production, makeup and sound engineering, as well as specialists in visual and lighting shows and fashion design.

Dubai Culture formed the performance evaluation committee to evaluate the performances participating in this year’s edition and ensured that they are in line with the 15 criteria set for evaluation. These criteria include: ensuring that the general form of the theatrical script is homogeneous and coherent; the performance is clear and understandable; it embodies the basic youth issues; it is original and creative in terms of content, direction, costumes, decoration and music; and that all the other elements of the theatrical work are in line with the UAE’s customs and traditions.