Enjoy our unique Arabic Theater Festival
In 1992, Osama Masri established the Masraheed Theater Festival, which began its journey in Haifa’s Beit HaGefen; and in 2001, it moved to Akko.
The word Masraheed is comprised of two words: Masrah – which means theater and Waheed which means solo. Consequently, the concept of Masraheed is similar to the concept of monodrama and it is unique to the Akko Festival. Masraheed is the only theater event in which monodramas in Arabic are presented. It is the first of its kind and the largest festival for Arabic plays, serving as a bridge for dialogue and introduction between the two peoples. This activity reflects the city’s coexistence, which is part of the city’s philosophy.
Each year since the Festival was established, a call for proposals is announced for monodramas to take part in the Festival. The competition begins with a process of reviewing the candidates and ends with the judges’ decision and prizes are awarded.
The Festival is produced by the Akko Center for Theater that is managed by Moni Yosef, Khaled Abu Ali and Smadar Yaaron. Judge (Emeritus) Faras Falakh serves as the Festival’s president, Jareis Tanus serves as the chairman of the Artistic Committee, and the artistic directors of the Festival are actor, playwright and director Osama Masri who was the founder of the Festival – and Khaled Abu Ali who is the Festival’s director. The artistic committee is comprised of Khaled Abu Ali, Maisara Masri and Osama Masri.
The Festival serves as an incubator for young artists and also for established artists to present their new creations. In the past, the Festival relied upon some materials that were translated; and over the years, there is a trend of more original plays.
In 2020, the first online festival was held, and the Festival is expected to resume live performances in October 2021.
