The Eazees International Women’s Theatre Festival is preparing to launch its third edition, named the “Samiha Ayoub Edition,” from September 25 to October 2, with the participation of 15 theatrical performances from 6 countries, in addition to a musical concert and two documentary films.
Actress and director Abeer Lotfy, the festival’s president, said that Egyptian productions witnessed a remarkable surge this year, with more than 105 theatrical performances, reflecting the richness of the theatrical movement in Egypt and the abundance of its talents.
She added that this richness was also reflected in the Fathia Al-Assal Playwriting Competition, which is being organized for the first time this year and presents more than 80 texts competing for its prizes in two tracks: one for professionals and the other for beginners, under the auspices of Dar Risha Publishing and Distribution, headed by the writer Hussein Othman.
During the press conference held to announce the details of the third edition, director Abeer Lotfy thanked all the supporters and sponsors, stressing that the Ministry of Culture has supported the festival logistically since its inception, but for the first time this year it is providing financial support after the festival proved its strong presence and ability to develop, which encouraged a number of institutions and partners to join, including the United Nations Population Fund and Misr El Kheir Foundation.
She explained that the third edition represents a qualitative leap in terms of the diversity of events, including theatrical performances, training workshops, seminars, films, and a writing competition. She noted that this year the festival honors artists Hanan Suleiman, Farida Fahmy, Aida Fahmy, Moataza Abdel Sabour, executive director Ola Fahmy, academic Dr. Mona Sadek, Lebanese artist Hanan Al-Hajj Ali, and Italian actress and director Anna Dora Dorno.
Director and actress Abeer Lotfy had previously confirmed that naming the third edition after the great artist Samiha Ayoub, the lady of Arab theater, adds to the value of the festival and supports its role in celebrating the women who make Egyptian theater, as Samiha Ayoub (1932-2025) was a role model and influenced the artistic and cultural movement in Egypt and the Arab world, and left a clear mark as an actress or director. She was the first director of the National Theater and she was also the first woman to direct a theatrical performance on the stage of the National Theater, which was a great challenge in a time when a number of giants of Egyptian theater shone.
She added that she will remain present through her art and her great works that established the value of Egyptian art and shaped the consciousness of successive generations, including “Al-Sabansa”, “Fedra”, “Sikkat Al-Salama”, “Al-Fata Mehran”, “Dimaa Ala Sitar Al-Kaaba”, “Al-Dars Intaha Lammu Al-Kararis”, “Al-Abbasa Ukht Al-Rashid”, and others.
It is worth mentioning that Samiha Ayoub also held a number of important administrative positions and through them influenced the Egyptian cultural scene, as she took over the management of the Modern Theater in 1973, and the management of the National Theater in two periods from 1975 to 1982 and from 1984 to 1988. She was interested in presenting important international texts and establishing artistic partnerships with international groups and artists, which enhanced the position of the Egyptian theater on the international scene, including “Phaedra” by Jean Racine, which was performed in Paris for 15 days and received praise from French critics, and “Antony and Cleopatra” by William Shakespeare, directed by Werner Bosse.
The French writer and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre also came to Egypt specifically to see her on stage, and after the show ended he commented on her performance, saying, “Finally I found Electra in Cairo.”
For her part, writer and director Abeer Ali Hazin, the festival’s artistic director, said that the main goal of the festival is to highlight feminist theater, whether the creator is a man or a woman, noting that this session includes seven distinguished Egyptian performances, in addition to performances from Lebanon, Palestine, Italy and Japan, and guest of honor Spain, which is participating with two performances.
She noted that this year’s session features a new partnership with the United Nations Population Fund and the launch of the Community Arts Track in cooperation with the Community Arts Festival, which deals with issues of gender-based discrimination and is organized by the Etijah Foundation and supervised artistically by the Zad Arts Foundation under the auspices of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and with the support of the United Nations Population Fund. She added that the track’s program includes the presentation of two performances, a documentary film, and an artistic concert by an Egyptian youth choir.
As part of the Beyond Borders project, the festival, in collaboration with the renowned Italian band Instabili Vaganti, which has won international awards, is organizing an intensive five-day training workshop from the 24th to the 28th of September.
The workshop will be held in the Al-Ghouri Dome in Fatimid Cairo and will result in a theatrical performance entitled “Egypt’s Borders,” which will be presented during the festival, with the participation of female artists from Egypt (dancers, performers, and actresses) who have experience in physical theatre.
The Italian company is interested in researching physical theatre and contemporary performance, and integrates different performing arts such as dance, video art, and live music. It is known for its cross-border projects carried out in Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East, and usually participates in cultural cooperation programs with theatre institutions, universities, and festivals.
It offers intensive workshops for actors and dancers on physical performance and movement expression, and pays attention to building cross-cultural collective experiences in search of a universal theatrical language, hence the name of the troupe Instabili Vaganti, meaning the unsettled travelers.
The Isis International Women’s Theatre Festival is organized by the Jarat Al Qamar Foundation and its management consists of director and actress Abeer Lotfy, the festival president, writer and director Abeer Ali Hazin and writer and critic Rasha Abdel Moneim, the festival directors, and Mustafa Mohamed and Mona Suleiman, the executive directors. It is held under the auspices and support of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture.