The Cairo International Monodrama Festival, in its current ninth edition, 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 Afataniou, who performed an artistic segment on stage that received widespread interaction from the audience during the opening ceremony held on Monday at the open-air theater of the Cairo Opera House, under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture.

The opening ceremony witnessed the honoring of Arab and international figures, where the name of the late artist Farouk Al-Fishawy was honored in appreciation of his rich artistic career. In addition to his extensive film and television portfolio, he engaged in theatrical activity from his artistic beginnings until his death, including plays such as 'Bidaya wa Nihaya', 'Al-Nas Elli Fi Al-Talet', and 'Al-Barinsisa'.

His two sons, Ahmed and Omar Farouk Al-Fishawy, received his award, as they both ascended the stage together. Omar thanked the festival management, while Ahmed Al-Fishawy joked with his brother, saying: 'It has occupied me a lot how I and Omar 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 emergency circumstances was announced by the festival president. The artist had ensured to attend the press conference held days before the festival's start and stated in her remarks at the conference that it is 'a great honor to be honored at this festival for her artistic career,' expressing pride in her artistic history and all the theatrical performances she has presented with major theater stars and directors.

Mimi Gamal presented theatrical works that enriched Egyptian theater, including: 'Numra 2 Yaksab', 'Mitrib Al-Awatif', 'Ana Min Fehem', 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. The festival's president and founder, Dr. Osama Raouf, said in his speech that 'the festival continues its mission of gathering theater artists from all over the world under the umbrella of creativity and cultural dialogue exchange, and the ninth edition represents a new station in its journey, in which we bet on important performances, events, and artistic workshops.'

Artist Mimi Gamal attended the press conference but was absent from the honoring (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 to convey the show's message. The festival's competition includes performances from several Arab and foreign countries, including Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Tunisia, Albania, and Australia.

The opening ceremony also honored the great theater director Samir Al-Asfoury. His two daughters, Mona and director Taghreed Al-Asfoury, and his two grandsons received the honor. Al-Asfoury has a long history of successful classical and artistic works such as 'Isis in Paris', 'Tragedy of Al-Hallaj', 'Al-Ayal Kabrat', and 'Innaha Haqan A'ila Muhtarama'.

Arab-wise, the festival honored the 'Dibba Association for Culture and Arts' in the Emirate of Fujairah, UAE, in appreciation of its role in supporting the Arab theater movement and enhancing cultural and artistic cooperation among Arab theater artists. Internationally, Albanian artist Justina Aliaj was honored, receiving her award in celebration of her rich theatrical history. The festival showed a short film about the journey of each honoree.

The opening ceremony was attended by a notable number of Egyptian, Arab, and international theater artists, including artist Sami Maghawry and artist Sama Ibrahim.

Albanian actress Justina Aliaj receives her honor (Festival Management)

The festival's competition this edition 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 Afataniou, 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 Bumad, directed by Ayman Mustafa, starring Marwa Abdel Moneim, and 'Sudden Death' written by Hani Mehran, directed by Adham Safwat, starring Asem Turk, produced by the Academy of Arts.

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

'Sama', one of the Egyptian performances at the festival (Festival Management)

According to theater critic Mohamed Bahgat, monodrama is considered the most difficult type of theater in terms of writing, acting, and directing. He explained in statements to 'Al-Sharq Al-Awsat' that it relies on a single actor who fills the theatrical space throughout the performance period, stressing that 'writing in it is more difficult and requires a skilled author and a great storyteller, as the text is written from the perspective of a single character that takes shape in roles, and this is difficult in writing and acting.'