The theatre critic and playwright Rasha Abdel Moneim, artist Rania Fathalla and theatre director Mohamed El-Shafei will be on the jury panel of the upcoming 5th edition of the Sharm El-Sheikh International Theatre Festival for Youth.

The three theatre practitioners are active young representatives of Egypt's theatrical movement and their contributions to the field have brought them numerous accolades.

The jury will decide the winner of the Essam El-Sayed Prize, given to the first directorial work of a theatre maker. The prize is named after Egypt's renowned theatre director Essam El-Sayed whose works have been staged in and outside the country, winning awards in numerous festivals.

Scheduled to take place 1-7 April 2020, the festival brings together young theatre practitioners, playwrights, and theatre academics from Egypt, the Arab world and the international artistic scene, in the coastal city of South Sinai. The festival also features numerous workshops and discussions around contemporary theatrical practices and how they can advance young practitioners in the arts.

Presided over by Mazen El-Gharabawy, the Sharm El-Sheikh International Theatre Festival for Youth is the first festival of its kind held in Sinai, launched with the aim of providing opportunities to young theatre practitioners while decentralising the artistic scene and reviving tourism in South Sinai.

The festival's management is still accepting submissions of theatre plays for the festival. The festival accepts works by young theatre practitioners, shedding particular light on first, second or third-time theatre directors whose age does not exceed 35 years in April 2020. Works by professional as well as amateur theatre practitioners are welcome, as long as it is an original creation of the director and does not carry any elements copied from other theatrical performances of the same or another text.

The Sharm El-Sheikh International Theatre Festival for Youth has renowned artist Samiha Ayoub as its honorary director, while the High Commitee includes such names as Egypt's theatre and film star Mohamed Sobhi, as well as Injy El-Bastawi and Tareq Sabri.

The festival is organised by Egypt's Ministry of Culture in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and South Sinai governorate.

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