Kuwait: The Qatari play The Shoeshiner won two awards at the closing of the eighth edition of the Kuwait International Monodrama Festival.

The Qatari production received the award for Best Script and the Special Jury Award, while artist Hafez Khalifa received a Certificate of Appreciation for scenography for his work on The Shoeshiner.

The play is written by Dr. Khalid Al Jaber, with dramaturgy by Boukthir Douma, scenography and direction by Hafez Khalifa, and performed by Mohammed Al Abbasi.

Presented in a monodrama format, it depicts the struggles of the contemporary Arab individual amidst political and social transformations, through a single character who narrates an internal conflict rich with multiple voices and meanings, reflecting a state of alienation and futility.

Last night, the curtain fell on the eighth edition of the Kuwait International Monodrama Festival at the stage of the Kuwait National Museum. The festival ran for five days with the participation of Arab and international theatre troupes, under the patronage of the Minister of Information and Culture and Minister of State for Youth Affairs, who also chairs the National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letters.

This year's edition was named after the Kuwaiti artist Ibrahim Al Sallal (85 years old), who was honored at the opening ceremony in recognition of his distinguished artistic career spanning nearly 50 years.

The festival featured 11 theatrical performances, including: Abaya from Kuwait, The Scarecrow Maker from Oman, The Lost Easterner from Saudi Arabia, Deep Voices from Palestine, Red Moon from Iraq, Doge Peter B from South Africa, In the Manama Market from Bahrain, Lament for Media from Spain, The Prisoner from Algeria, Arjoob from Kuwait, and The Shoeshiner from the State of Qatar.

Lament for Media, directed by Rafael Benito, won the awards for Best Director and Best Scenographer. The award for Best Actor went to Seifmo Motsuri from South Africa. The award for Best Actress was shared by Catherine Hashim from Iraq for her performance in Red Moon and Tehani Suleiman from Palestine for Deep Voices. The closing ceremony also included honoring the festival committees and presenting the play A Blind Scene.

The jury presented its recommendations for the festival, which included increasing the number of festival days, organizing specialized workshops on solo performance techniques and monodrama directing, enhancing the technical infrastructure of productions in terms of lighting, sound, and scenographic design, and documenting performances in a dedicated festival archive. The recommendations emphasized the importance of continuing support for the festival as a cultural initiative that strengthens the theatrical landscape.

Monodrama is a theatrical art form based on a single performer who carries the events, dialogue, and expression of multiple characters through their performance, voice, and movement. In this art form, all aspects of the production rely primarily on the actor's energy, persuasiveness, and ability to influence the audience.

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