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Gulf theater showcased in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Actors perform on stage during the play ‘Yaby Lahu’ on Tarout island, on Saudi Arabia’s east coast. (Asharq Al-Awsat)


Actors perform on stage during the play 'Yaby Lahu' on Tarout island, on Saudi Arabia’s east coast. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Actors perform on stage during the play ‘Yaby Lahu’ on Tarout island, on Saudi Arabia’s east coast. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Dammam, Asharq Al-Awsat—Thespians from across the Gulf enjoyed the limelight during Saudi celebrations of Eid Al-Adha in the Eastern Province region with plays staged in Dammam and Tarout Island.

Al-Rehla (The Journey), a socio-comedy co-starring Saudi actors Mohamed Ali, Nayef Fayez, Fahd Al-Asfour and Abdulaziz Al-Ahmed, and directed by Dr. Khalid Al-Baz, was performed on Monday in Dammam.

Mohamed Al-Safyan, head of the organizing committee for the Eid festivities, said the Eastern Province also saw firework displays, folk bands from across the Kingdom, and children’s activities, including various competitions, across Dammam, Al-Khobar and Dhahran during the Eid period.

The Dawkhala theater on Tarout island, on Saudi Arabia’s east coast, will host the play Yaby Lahu (He Wants), a collaboration between actors from across the Gulf including Qatari Ghazi Hussein, Bahraini Ali Al-Ghurair, Kuwaiti Sha’aban Abbas and Saudi Faris Al-Khalidi. Kuwaiti play Al-Bouma (The Owl) sees Abdurrahman Al-Aql, Ahmed Al-Faraj, Sultan Al-Faraj and Mubarak al-Mane’a take to the stage.

The plays are being put on as part of the Dawkhala festival, held in the Senabis village on the island. The 10-day event is a revival of an ancient tradition when the island’s residents planted and cultivated wheat and barley seeds in the days before Eid Al-Adha. Pilgrims traveling to Mecca carried the baskets and seedling pots to the holy city and back to Senabis. On their return, the seedlings were thrown into the sea while locals chanted songs for their safe return.

Meanwhile, the nearby oasis region of Al-Ahsa held a six-day festival, ‘Our Eid in Uqair,’ on Uqair Beach. Local government official Abdullah Al-Arfaj said organizing these events was part of the Al-Ahsa municipality’s efforts to strengthen the town’s historical identity. Arfaj said the festivities also aimed at attracting tourists from inside and outside the Kingdom to visit Uqair Beach. “The area has become a prominent tourist attraction thanks to the Kingdom’s efforts, represented by the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, and the funding provided to transform the shoreline into one that rivals other regional beaches.”