The Internet's Just Another Stage With Egypt’s New International Theatre Festival

After the postponement of the fifth edition of the Youth of the South Theatre Festival (YSTF), the founder behind the annual arts event, Hytham Elhawary, has decided that the show must go on. Elhawary set up the new Online International Theatre Festival, starting March 27th, in an effort to stay in touch with theatre practitioners and their audiences.

"The coronavirus outbreak and the closure of all artistic activities should not stop us from reaching out to each other and to our audiences," Elhawary says. "Though we do not present theatre on the stages, we won't stop our life. We should go outside the box and the online activities are a perfect way of doing so."

While the postponed YSTF would have focused on heritage and folkloric arts, this new online festival will be open to all forms of productions from around the world in collaboration with Tunisia’s Spring Festival for Theatre.

From March 27th to March 30th, the festival will present entries on the websites of both the YTSF and the Tunisian Spring Festival for Theatre. March 26th will be the last day that entries can be submitted. Three plays will be streamed daily, with an open discussion feature for the audience. Theatre specialists will also be contributing lectures and workshops alongside the screenings.

As for the future of the online festival, this could be just the beginning. Do you think an online experience like this can change the way we do theatre, or do you believe you really need to be right there with your live performances? Let us know in the comments below.