The sixth edition of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
brings with it performances at the Fringe packed with theatrical fun – and it’s
free!
Be entertained with the Festival Fringe at the Intercontinental
Hotel, Festival City on March 6 and 7.
Since its inception three years ago, the Fringe for adults has
showcased an array of locally based talent celebrating the written and spoken
word through various performing arts.
This year sees a focus on theatre.
“The interest for theatre has been growing
steadily in Dubai, and the UAE, for that matter, over the past few years,” said
Lara Matossian-Roberts who puts the Fringe programme together. “There are a few
new theatre groups and, so far, it’s been a very busy season indeed!”
This year, the Fringe sees the return of
Dubai Drama Group with their thematically befitting adaptation of Steven
Berkoff’s Metamorphosis based on
Franz Kafka’s novella of the same name. In their interpretation of Metamorphosis, Dubai Drama Group have
set out to challenge Dubai theatre-going audiences through the use of Total
Theatre and using ensemble movement to portray the psychological workings of
both the man who has woken up to find that he has morphed into a giant insect
and his family as they deal with the burden of looking after this grotesque
creature.
Third Half Theatre also returns this year
with their performance of Garçon, a play
in English. Three men meet at a café and relate their experiences with The
Girl... and then she walks in. At times humorous, at times poignant, Garçon is
an exploration of the ephemeral nature of identity and relationships.
The Fringe newcomer this year is the
Short+Sweet Festival. Now in its second
year, the Short+Sweet is a theatre festival of 10-minute plays offering locally
based playwrights, directors and actors the chance to compete against one
another over the course of three weekends.
The Fringe showcases this year’s top 8 plays.
Also new to
the Fringe is Theatresports presented by the Courtyard Playhouse. Theatresports
is a form of improvisational theatre, which uses the format of a competition
for dramatic effect. Opposing teams can perform scenes based on audience
suggestions, with ratings by the audience or by a panel of judges.
The Fringe takes place in Al Baraha 1A,
Events Center, Intercontinental Hotel, Dubai Festival City and is not a
ticketed event, so entrance is free of charge, and there is free seating. For
show timings please visit the Fringe page on the Emirates Airline Festival of
Literature website.
Now in its sixth year, the Emirates Airline
Festival of Literature is the Middle East’s largest celebration of the written
and spoken word, bringing people of all ages together with authors from across
the world to promote education, debate and, above all else, reading.
The Festival will take place in Dubai from 4 to
8 March under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al
Maktoum, UAE Vice-President & Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and in
partnership with Emirates and the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai
Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated Authority for culture, arts, and heritage.
The Festival is now part of the Emirates Literature Foundation, which was
established last year by Royal decree.
For more details of the Festival please visit
www.emirateslitfest.com. Join us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/emirateslitfest), Twitter (www.twitter.com/emirateslitfest), Instagram (http://instagram.com/EmiratesLitFest) and YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/EmiratesLitFest) for competitions and more updates.
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