The Alexandria Theatre Festival for Specialised Institutes is set to kick off its first edition, taking place from 3 to 8 December, where 10 plays from seven Arab countries will be competing.

The institutes participating are from Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Oman in addition to three from Egypt; Ain Shams University, the American University in Cairo and the Higher Institute of Theatrical Arts.

All 10 plays will be staged at the different halls of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina starting afternoon hours, and some of the workshops and panel discussions will be held at the Beram El-Tounsi Theatre.

The jury is headed by professor Samira Mohsen, and comprises Kuwaiti Fahd Al-Salim, Omani Azza Al-Qasabi, Syrian Gamal Soliman, Jordanian Monzer Rehana, as well as Eyad Nassar, Mohamed Sami, Leqaa El-Khamisi and Ahmed Abdel-Aziz from Egypt.

The festival was founded by president of High Institute of the Theatrical Arts Ashraf Zaki, who is also head of the Actors Syndicate. The first edition is named after Egyptian director Galal El-Sharkawy.

Under the helm of president Alaa Abdel-Aziz, three workshops for directing, theatre writing and acting will be held by Hammadi Ouhaibi from Tunisia and Alaa Abdel-Aziz and Rania Fathallah from Egypt.

The festival, which is sponsored by the government, aims to "encourage intercultural exchange between Arab nations and to provide practicing opportunities for theatre students."

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