Al Sawari Theatre… Because Nations Have a Spirit and a Body - Manama – Fawzia Rashid – Akhbar Al Khaleej – 8 August 2026

Just as human beings have a body and a soul, nations too have a body and a soul. The body of a nation is represented by its geography, environment, skies, land, and sea, as well as its institutions, ministries, and administrations—in other words, everything that constitutes the state in terms of its official structures and infrastructure. But what about the soul? The soul of nations is found in their history, civilization, heritage, cultures, and arts; in thought, literature, poetry, music, theatre, and in the people who work across all these fields—in everything that expresses their essence, identity, character, and distinctive identity as nations.

Manama – Al Sayed Zahra – Akhbar Al Khaleej – 5 August 2026

Al Sawari Theatre Achieves a Major National and Arab Milestone, Winning Five Awards at the Jerash Monodrama Festival, The Bahraini Al Sawari Theatre achieved a major national and Arab milestone, winning five awards at the Jerash Monodrama Festival. The production The So-Called Coincidence received four awards: Best Overall Production, the Special Jury Award, presented to actor Kamel Al Busaidi, Best Director, awarded to Ibrahim Al Mansi, and Best Scenography, awarded to artist Abdullah Al Bakri. Bahraini playwright Yousif Al Hamdan also received the Best Playwriting Award for his play Mr. Stage.

Does the cultural scene still remember the pioneer of Bahraini and Gulf theatre, the late artist, creative writer, and director Abdullah Al-Sa'dawi (1948–2024)?

Is he still present in the spirit and substance of every theatrical event? He was a constant force during a period when theatre flourished, helping place Bahrain in a distinguished and luminous position on the map of Arab and Gulf theatre. Can anyone forget that he received the Best Director Award at the Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre for his production of The Mask?

Al Sawari Theater in Bahrain Chooses Comprehensive Experimentation
Manama - Abbas Ahmed Al Hayek
Al Hayat 01/01/2004

The Bahraini theater group "Al Sawari" has been working experimentally since its establishment in 1991 to enrich the theatrical movement in Bahrain and the Gulf with experiments that strip away conventional theatrical norms, delving into experimentation and innovation. The members of "Al Sawari" strive, driven by their ambitions and passion for theater, to propel their theater towards achieving full cognitive and intellectual maturity to cultivate a cultured taste among the audience through their distinctive performances, which have participated in Arab and international festivals and received considerable attention. Director Abdullah Al Saadawi won the Best Director award for the play "The Gag" at the Cairo International Experimental Theater Festival in 1994, demonstrating his commitment to a visionary approach to theatrical texts.