The ninth edition of the Cairo International Monodrama Festival is betting on a rich program of performances, seminars, and workshops presented by a number of Egyptian and foreign theater artists, including Italian acting coach Paolo Avatanio, who presented an artistic segment on stage that received wide interaction from the audience during the opening ceremony held on Monday at the open-air theater of the Egyptian Opera House, under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture.

The opening ceremony honored Arab and international figures, including the late artist Farouk al-Fishawy, in recognition of his fruitful artistic career. In addition to his extensive cinematic and television work, he had an active theater career from his early beginnings until his death, including plays such as "The Beginning and the End," "The People on the Third Floor," and "The Princess."

His sons Ahmed and Omar Farouk al-Fishawy received the award on his behalf. They both went on stage together, and Omar thanked the festival management, while Ahmed joked with his brother, saying, "It made me think a lot about how Omar and I will divide this award."

Ahmed and Omar al-Fishawy at the opening ceremony (Festival Management)

The festival also honored artist Mimi Gamal, whose absence due to an emergency was announced by the festival president. The artist had attended the press conference held days before the festival and said in her remarks that it was a "great honor to be honored in this festival for her artistic career," expressing her pride in her artistic history and all the theatrical performances she presented with major stars and directors.

Mimi Gamal presented theatrical works that enriched Egyptian theater, including: "Number 2 Wins," "The Romantic Singer," "Who Am I Among Them?" and "Al-Qashash."

The opening ceremony of the Cairo International Monodrama Festival began with a documentary film documenting the festival's journey over its previous editions. Festival founder and president Dr. Osama Raouf said in his speech, "The festival continues its mission of bringing together theater artists from all over the world under the umbrella of creativity and cultural dialogue. The ninth edition represents a new milestone in its journey, where we bet on important performances, events, and workshops."

Artist Mimi Gamal attended the press conference but was absent from the honor (Festival Management)

Monodrama performances rely on a single actor who narrates the event and may embody multiple characters within the text, which requires high performance skills from the actor to convey the message of the performance. The festival competition includes performances from several Arab and foreign countries, including Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Tunisia, Albania, and Australia.

The opening ceremony honored the great theater director Samir al-Asfoury. His daughters Mona and director Taghreed al-Asfoury and his two grandchildren accepted the award on his behalf. Al-Asfoury has a long history of successful classical and artistic works such as "Isis in Paris," "The Tragedy of al-Hallaj," "The Kids Have Grown Up," and "It's Truly a Respectable Family."

Arabically, the festival honored the Diba for Culture and Arts Association in the Emirate of Fujairah, UAE, in appreciation of its role in supporting the Arab theater movement and enhancing cultural and artistic cooperation between Arab theater artists. Internationally, Albanian artist Justina Aliaj was honored; she received her award in celebration of her rich theatrical career. The festival screened a short film about the journey of each of those honored.

A notable number of Egyptian, Arab, and international theater artists attended the opening ceremony, including artist Sami Maghawry and artist Sama Ibrahim.

Albanian actress Justina Aliaj receives her honor (Festival Management)

This year's festival competition includes a number of Arab and international performances, held at the Al-Ghad Theater in Cairo. The competition jury includes Sudanese director and actor Ali Mahdi, one of the most prominent figures of Sudanese theater, along with Italian acting coach Paolo Avatanio, and Dr. Abeer Mansour, head of the Theater Department at the Faculty of Arts.

Two Egyptian performances are participating in the competition: "Sama" produced by Al-Hanager Theater, written by Sonia Bommad, directed by Ayman Mostafa, and starring Marwa Abdel Monem, and "Sudden Death" written by Hani Mehran, directed by Adham Safwat, starring Assem Turk, and produced by the Academy of Arts.

The ninth edition of the festival includes several workshops and artistic events, including a masterclass by Italian artist Paolo Avatanio titled "Introduction to Visual Comedy," a workshop by artist Hossam Dagher titled "The Meaning of Acting... When a Single Actor Becomes a Representative of Humanity," and a workshop by artist Amr Abdel Aziz titled "Comedy Between Monologue, Monodrama, and Storytelling." The festival also holds a competition among Arab authors in the field of monodrama and a school theater competition.

"Sama" is one of the Egyptian performances at the festival (Festival Management)

According to theater critic Mohamed Bahgat, monodrama is the most difficult type of theater in terms of writing, acting, and directing. He explained in statements to Asharq Al-Awsat that it relies on a single actor filling the theatrical space throughout the performance, emphasizing that "writing it is more difficult and requires a brilliant author and a great storyteller. The text is written from the perspective of a single character that takes shape in the roles, which is difficult in writing and acting."