Amman, June 30 (Petra) – The 20th edition of the International Festival of Liberal Theater is set to kick off on July 13 in Amman, under the theme "Theater is a Triumph for Life and a Tribute to the Late Artist Renad Thalji."

The six-day event will be held at Al-Hussein Cultural Center and Ras Al-Ain Hangar, with strategic partnerships from the Ministry of Culture and the Greater Amman Municipality.

This year's festival will feature local and Arab theatrical performances across two categories: the international competition and the youth track. Participating troupes will compete for the Liberal Theater Awards, including Best Performance, Acting, Directing, and Scenography, alongside special awards named in honor of late artists.

The international segment includes plays from Syria, Tunisia, Morocco, Kuwait, and Oman, in addition to a Jordanian production titled Hammam Al-Hana. A distinguished panel of judges comprising artists and literary figures from Jordan, Palestine, Iraq, Syria, and Italy will evaluate the entries.

The opening ceremony will feature a documentary film chronicling 25 years of the Liberal Theater Troupe, followed by the premiere of the Jordanian play Naheel, written by Ali Olayyan and directed by Iyad Shatnawi, featuring a cast of prominent local actors.

The festival will also honor several notable Arab artists and host a training workshop titled The Fundamentals of Interactive Theater, led by Syrian artist Enas Husseina. Three panel discussions will accompany the event, exploring the legacy of the Liberal Theater movement, the experience of the International Theatre Institute, and a memorial tribute to Renad Thalji.

In a new initiative, the festival will launch a dedicated podcast titled Liberal Theater Nights, in collaboration with the SAE Institute School of Creative Media. The podcast will be available on the troupe’s digital platforms.

Now in its sixth edition, the youth track will showcase seven performances by emerging directors competing for awards equivalent to those of the main competition.

This category will be adjudicated by a jury chaired by director Firas Al-Masri, with members from Jordan, Tunisia, the UAE, and Oman.

The festival aims to support Arab theatrical creativity and bolster the visibility of young Jordanian talent in the professional theater landscape.

//Petra// AF

30/06/2025 21:25:02