Crises of the castle and the National Theater Festival .. Crowd and run out of tickets and "poster" departed

Alaa Abdel Razek-Cairo

This week, Cairo is witnessing a great artistic vigor, coinciding with the National Theater Festival, before the end of the summer vacation and the start of the new school year.

With a ticket not exceeding 20 pounds (equivalent to US $ 1.2), singing fans can attend concerts of the biggest Egyptian singing stars during the festival of the castle's castle in the heart of Salah al-Din Citadel, but crowding and poor organization remain major obstacles for the art-lovers and the creeping crowd to attend. Events.

The festival started on Sunday 18 August in the presence of the Minister of Culture, the Minister of Antiquities and the President of the Egyptian Opera House, and during the 15 days - the duration of the festival - 42 concerts performed by leading artists including Mohamed Helou, Ali El Haggar, Medhat Saleh and Hisham Abbas, and bands from Egypt And other countries, and concludes its activities with musician Omar Khairat concert next Sunday.

The first edition of the Festival of the Castle was launched in 1990, and became the most famous music festivals in Cairo because of the growing popularity of it year after year.

Controversy because of tickets

The festival has generated different responses to social media because tickets are sold in greater numbers than the festival's capacity to accommodate visitors, causing some of the ticket holders not to enter, such as at a mandatory Massar concert.

Israa commented on Facebook, criticizing the lack of organization and the continuing box office in selling tickets despite the fullness of the place:

National Theater Festival
The 12th edition of the National Theater Festival, named after the artist Karam Mutaweh, was held in conjunction with the Festival of the Castle of the Castle, featuring plays in various cultural centers and honoring a number of artists. The festival is an area for non-famous actors and amateurs to compete for its prizes, and runs until August 30.

The National Theater Festival includes special performances for children, such as "Alice in Wonderland", which has been well received by children and families.

The festival, which is headed by the artist Ahmed Abdel Aziz, honored artist Tawfiq Abdel Hamid, who retired from art nine years ago.

Because all the performances are free, the festival is very popular with theatrical performances, causing the public to complain about the crowds.

Ashraf Abdel Baqi's play "Crime in Maadi" also witnessed some skirmishes between the public and security men due to the overcrowding and crowding in front of the Rihani Theater.

The festival organizes a number of seminars during its activities, discussing the issues of contemporary Egyptian theater and drama in Egypt and its impact.

The poster crisis
The festival poster sparked controversy among the children of the artists, who criticized ignoring the status of their parents' portraits of Egyptian theater symbols.

Artist Ayman Bahgat Qamar commented on the absence of his father's image of the festival poster.

Amr Mahmoud Yassin also criticized the absence of his father's image, arguing that the poster includes only those who died.

" Posters " departed
The head of the National Theater Festival artist Ahmed Abdel Aziz has made clear in press statements that it is shameful to talk about the "Avish" festival, supposed to be talking about aspects of an important play.

Abdel Aziz pointed out that the propaganda poster belonged to the late artists only, and apologized for the absence of the late writer Bahjat Qamar, saying that he "fell accidentally."

The critic and director Jamal Abdel Nasser, head of the media center of the festival that the poster was intended for artists only actors and not for theater writers or producers.