Theater Pioneers in the Kingdom

The Theater Pioneers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were the first to innovate in theatrical writing and worked towards establishing theaters and presenting shows in the Kingdom. This began as early as 1932, through several individual attempts to establish Saudi theater even before the emergence of theaters themselves. Poet Hussein Abdullah Siraj wrote several plays, starting with 'The Unjust to Himself' in 1932, followed by 'Jamil and Buthaynah' in 1942, and 'Walladah's Love' in 1952.

The cultural role of theater lagged behind dramatic representation and other performing arts, despite the early emergence of writings by the early pioneers. The theaters were not readily available, and prominent efforts in this regard were made by the Ministry of Knowledge (currently known as the Ministry of Education), which sought to encourage theatrical activities in schools and organized competitions and awards for them.

The beginnings of Saudi theater were early through schools. In 1935, Founding King Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud visited Unayzah and attended a school show, where he watched the play 'Kisra and the Arab Delegation,' at that time, Saleh al-Darrab was playing the role of Amer Bin al-Tufayl.

Some argue that the influential journey of Saudi theater began around 1958 with Sheikh Saleh Bin Saleh in Qassim, who taught students acting and honed their artistic talents to the point where some played multiple roles. Abdulaziz al-Hazzaa, in Unayzah, also gained fame, performing roles from behind the curtain.

With the spread of theatrical literature and the proliferation of talented individuals within it, several pioneers emerged in theatrical writing who enriched Saudi theater and left their mark on it. Among them was Ahmad Abd al-Ghafur Attar, who practiced literary theatrical writing and penned 'al-Hijra' and 'al-Malhama' in 1946, Abdullah Abduljabbar with his work 'Uncle Sahnoun' in 1952, Mohammed Malibari with 'The Conquest of Makkah' and 'Musaylimah the Liar' in 1960, as well as Isam Khuqayr and Ibrahim Hamdan.

The early stages of the creative movement in the Kingdom witnessed the emergence of several playwrights who made significant contributions to the beginnings of Saudi theater. Ibrahim al-Hamdan wrote several theatrical texts, starting with a social comedy titled 'The Train of Fortune', where he used colloquial language. He also wrote 'al-Mahabeel', a satirical social comedy. The economic growth witnessed by the Kingdom in the seventies and eighties contributed to the development of theatrical tools in general. During that period, plays like 'Drugs and Real Estate' by Abdulrahman al-Hamad, and 'Text and Production' by Suleiman al-Hammad, were prominent.

The efforts of pioneers in establishing Saudi theater continued, and several initiatives and endeavors emerged to establish a theatrical activity that keeps pace with the global and Arab theater movement. One of the most important of these efforts was the initiative adopted by the writer Ahmed al-Sibai, in 1960, in Makkah al-Mukarramah, when he began establishing a private theater and chose to name it 'Dar Quraysh for Islamic Acting'.

Initiatives to establish theaters varied in different provinces of the Kingdom. After the efforts of the early theater practitioners in Makkah al-Mukarramah, a group of artists in al-Ahsa managed to establish the Folk Arts Club in al-Ahsa in 1971. Among them were Abdulrahman al-Hamad, Hasan al-Abdi, Khalid al-Hamidi, Abdulaziz al-Marzouq, Saleh al-Tanam, Khalid al-Khairallah, Omar al-Obaidi, and others.

Efforts to establish Saudi theater continued through literary and cultural institutions, with the emergence of many innovators interested in theatrical literature. The beginnings of establishing Saudi theater included the founding of the Culture and Arts Society in 1972. Among its early productions were several works, including 'The End of the Journey' by Abdulrahman al-Sha'er, ''Number Three Wins' by Nasser al-Mubarak, 'The Train of Fortune' by Ibrahim al-Hamdan, and 'The Remaining Laundry' by Ibrahim al-Hasan.

The efforts of pioneers were distributed across various aspects of establishing theater, including playwrights, actors, and directors. With the onset of the theatrical movement, theater found its way to the radio in 1961, when Saudi Radio in Jeddah began broadcasting the program 'Radio Theater', directed by Mohsen Sheikh and Adel Jalal. This radio program witnessed the emergence of several talented actors, such as Hasan Dardir, Lotfi Zeini, Mohammed and Abdulrahman Yaghmour, Amin Qattan, Khaled Zare', and al-Sharif al-Ardawi.

With the emergence and spread of television, theater shifted to a visual form to gain more widespread acceptance and popularity. Director Bashir Mardini took the initiative to produce 'Television Theater' following the advent of television broadcasting, similar to radio theater. It aired the first locally produced Saudi play to be shown on television, titled 'A Groom of Gold', which featured actors like Abdulrahman al-Khuraiji, Hamad al-Hathil, Ahmed al-Hathil, al-Sharif al-Ardawi, Hasan Dardir, Lotfi Zeini, and others.

Theatrical creativity was not limited to men alone; rather, the creativity of Saudi women also emerged. Important names made a notable creative presence, such as Hind Baghaffar, who wrote several plays since 1975, as well as the novelist Raja'a Alem, the writer Wafaa Tayyib, and Kawthar al-Mayman. Writer Malha Abdullah also significantly contributed to Saudi theater with around fifty plays.

Theatrical activity evolved over time to include children's theater, which emerged in the 1970s, thanks to the efforts of Abdulrahman al-Marikhi, presented at al-Jeel Club Theater in al-Ahsa Governorate, including the play 'Laylat al-Nafilah'. Due to these efforts, he was dubbed the pioneer of Saudi children's theater. Saudi playwrights continued to contribute to children's theater, including Ahmed Abu Rabia from al-Madinah al-Munawwarah, Abdullah Al Abdulmohsen, Meshal al-Rasheed, Fahd al-Hoshani, Ibrahim al-Khamis, Sami al-Jumai'an, Mohammed al-Sahimi, Omar al-Jasser, and many others.

The enrichment of theater continued its course, and Saudi theater found its identity thanks to the emergence of multiple theatrical generations and the establishment of associations and academic departments for its teaching at universities. This led to the emergence of numerous playwrights. For instance, Isam Khuqayr published eleven plays in one book in 1969 through the Saudi Publishing House. The creators turned to invest in popular heritage, as highlighted in three plays by Rashid al-Shamrani, while another trend emerged in Saudi theater focusing on symbolism, as seen in Ali al-Saeed's play 'al-Jarad' and Rashid al-Shamrani's 'Deek al-Bahar'.

During the 1970s, theater practitioners became more open to the public, and theatrical experimentation shifted from private theaters to public performances that attracted audiences, with the first play performed for an audience in the Kingdom, 'Doctor in al-Mish'ab', in Riyadh in 1973. Directed by Ibrahim al-Hamdan, it was based on Molière's 'Le Médecin Malgré Lui', adapted from a translation by the Lebanese poet Elias Abu Shabaki.