The festival is taking place at the Anfushi Cultural Palace and features four Egyptian productions alongside 13 plays from countries across the Arab region and beyond.
In addition to performances, the festival offers a range of artistic workshops and seminars led by renowned artists. The full programme is available on its official Facebook page.
This year’s edition of AITF is dedicated to Mohamed Henedi, the beloved Egyptian actor and comedian known for his sharp wit and distinctive voice. Rising to fame in the 1990s, Henedi starred in hit films such as Ismailia Rayeh Gay (1997) and Hamam fi Amsterdam (1999).
Over the following decades, he appeared in more than 60 films and an equal number of television series, as well as around 20 theatrical productions.
The AITF jury includes director and actress Monica Hansen (jury president); Egyptian director and artist Tamer Karam; Egyptian artist Ibrahim Al-Samman; Palestinian actor and director Ihab Zahdeh; Kuwaiti director and scenographer Nassar Al-Nassar; and Egyptian artist Nada Adel (committee rapporteur).
The Alexandria International Theatre Festival was founded in 2008 by theatre director Gamal Yakout under the name Theatre Without Fund Festival to showcase troupes from around the world, particularly low-budget and student productions.
For many years, the festival was presided over by Yakout, with Ibrahim El-Forn serving as its artistic director.
After Yakout was appointed president of the Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre in 2021 and 2022, El-Forn took over as president of the Alexandria festival, with Ahmed Samir as artistic director.
Since its 13th edition, the festival has been renamed the Alexandria International Theatre Festival, with Islam Wassouf serving as its director.
The festival is organized under the patronage of Egypt's Ministry of Culture.
Short link: