The National Theatre's most successful show of the season, Al-Motafael (The Optimist), has started its Alexandria two-week run Sunday, 22 December, kicking off its tour across Egypt's governorates.

 

Directed and adapted for the theatre by Islam Imam, the play, whose Cairo run was extended three times, will open its tour in Alexandria followed by Tanta, Qena and Aswan, before returning to Cairo.

 

Being staged for 75 full-house nights in Cairo with a total of 35,000 attendees, the Egyptian adaptation of the classic satire novella Candide, written by French author and historian Voltaire in the 1750s, stars comedian Sameh Hussein who launched his artistic career in the theatre before moving to cinema.

 

In Al-Motafael, the 43-year-old actor shares the stage with Sahar El-Sayegh, Youssef Ismail, Ezzat Zein, Sawsan Rabie, Ayat Magdi, Tamer El-Kashef, Amgad El-Haggar, Zakaria Marouf, singer Mostafa Sami, and a group of the National Theatre's youngsters.

 

Al-Motafael's music is composed by Hisham Gabr, to the lyrics by Tarek Ali.