Issue No. 593
Culture
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4 - 10 July 2002 Issue No. 593 Culture |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
EGYPTIAN singer and actor Muharram Fouad died last Thursday at the age of 71.
Muharram Fouad
(1931-2002)Fouad starred in 13 films, most notably Henri Barakat's classic Hassan and Na'ima in 1961 alongside Soad Hosni; Lahn Al- Sa'ada (The Melody of Happiness); Wulidt Min Gadid (Born Again); Ushaq Al-Hayat (Lovers of Life); Al-Malika wa Ana (The Queen and I) and Al-Aish wa Al-Malh (Bread and Salt). A graduate of the Arabic Music Institute, Fouad performed more than 700 songs. His death followed several years of heart problems.
Arab thought in Cairo...
THE ARAB Thought institution will hold its first conference in Cairo from 27 to 29 October. The announcement came at a press conference held by the institution's chairman Prince Khaled El-Faisal, Mustafa El-Fiqi, the institution's counsellor, and Naguib Sawiris, a member of the board of trustees.More than 35 intellectuals and officials are expected to attend the conference -- among the names leaked so far are Tayeb Saleh, Burhan Ghalioun, Gihad Al-Khazen, Safwat El- Sherif, Abdel-Salam Al-Magali, Amr Moussa, Ghassan Salame, Farouk El-Baz, Hoda El- Ni'mi and Eric Rouleau.
and the provinces
THE GENERAL Assembly of Egypt's provincial writers have finally settled on a programme for their upcoming annual conference, scheduled to take place in Alexandria during October. The conference's opening session will revolve around the theme of "11 September and cultural changes". Other panels will discuss the role of literature in mobilisation, the literature of resistance, and literature in a consumerist society. It will also include a roundtable discussion on literature and identity in the age of globalisation as well as evenings of testimonies and recollections of personal experience.
Calligraphy institute
THE BIBLIOTHECA Alexandrina is planning to found an Institute of Calligraphy. Plans were discussed at a two-day seminar held at the library's headquarters last week.The institute is expected to be concerned with various ancient scripts as well as with the study of Arabic calligraphy in particular. Preparation for its foundation will take a year and will include the training of a specialised workforce as well as establishing contacts and links with comparable institutions around the world. The institute is expected to be inaugurated in April 2003 with an international conference on calligraphy and scripts.
Architectural reference
THE BIBLIOTHECA Alexandrina is also working on an encyclopaedia of Egypt's architectural heritage. As part of the preparations for this multi-volume work a conference will be held at the library on 15 December to discuss its various sections and entries with participating scholars. The encyclopaedia's editorial board, whose members are also the conference's steering committee, is chaired by the library's director Ismail Serageddin and includes Doris Abu Seif, Raafat El- Nabrawi, Abdallah El-Attar and Khaled Azab.
September on stage
THE 11 September attacks on New York and Washington are the inspiration behind at least three commercial plays planned for the Egyptian stage this summer. Director Samir El- Asfouri's Taraki'u, director Essam El- Sayed's Shayy Fi Sabri (Something in My Patience) and playwright Hamdi Nawwar's Shabab Riwish Tahn (Cool Guys) all deal with the ramifications of the terrorist attacks on the world scene. It remains to be seen how commercial summer theatre, traditionally conceived as lightweight, will tackle such material.
Dramatic affairs
ABDEL-RAHMAN Abu Zahra has reportedly abandoned the cast of Al-Hanager's coming production, Al-Layla Al-Thanya Ba'd Al-Alf (The Thousand and Second Night), directed by Essam El-Sayed and starring Amina Rizq to join the National Theatre's cast of Lenin El-Ramli's Tihhib Tishuf Ma'sah (Would You Like to See a Tragedy?), which unexpectedly lost its lead actor Salah El-Saadani last week. The role had been offered to Hussein Fahmi before Abu Zahra was approached.The National Theatre is scheduled to stage Ma'sah in mid-July but now it is the Hanager play that is threatened with cancellation. Abu Zahra has requested its postponement till after the fall Festival for Experimental Theatre.
Othello at last
AFTER several delays (the latest on account of low audiences due to the World Cup matches) Al-Hanager's production of William Shakespeare's Othello opened last Thursday. Based on Khalil Mutran's translation of the Shakespearean classic, the play stars Ahmed Maher, Dina Abdallah, Hisham Abdallah and is directed by Mohamed El-Khouli.
Prizes for Ismailia
SALAH Marei, assistant director of the Ismailia International Festival for Documentary and Short Films, has announced a new prize for the festival's upcoming round. Whereas the winner of the Best Film award traditionally received a certificate of appreciation only, this year the award will include a cash prize of LE10,000. This year's round will take place from 27 September to 3 October and so far at least 20 films are participating.
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