Al Sha’abi awakens public interest in drama
Abdulrahman’s stage debut was a thrilling experience
At the same time the team-work involved in those activities gave him the advantage of acquiring social skills, of which he made good use later-on when working with people.
From the start football was his favorite sport. It grew into a passion when his elder brother brought him a pair of football shoes as a gift from Bahrain. Those shoes were his pride and joy for a very long time.
Because he was fluent in reading, when he attended the Qebliya School Abdulrahman was chosen to read the Holy Quran every morning before class.
Incidentally it was at the Qebliya School that he appeared on stage for the first time, taking part in the play that was staged during the 1943 festival.
The play “Harb Al Bushut” (the Mantel’s War) was a classic directed by the headmaster of his school, Abdulmalak Al Salah, a pioneer in the education development in Kuwait.
Festival
The yearly festival was more than a great scholastic event .There was a variety of activities such as sport tournaments, the art and handicrafts exhibition, a classic play followed by an improvised farce.
The latter, which required wit and imagination on the part of the young actors, was the spark that set in motion the local stage movement in the country.
Abdulrahman’s first appearance on stage was a thrilling experience, especially when he had to improvise his own dialogue in the farce. Performing with him at the time was Saleh Al Aujairy, a witty young fellow fond of practical jokes, who later became the renowned Kuwaiti astronomer.
Subsequently Abdulrahman joined the group of young actors whose mutual passion for the stage welded them into a loving team, working together and caring for one another.
From this group the first stage in town was founded under the name “Mesrah Al Sha’abi “(the People’s Stage).
Because of the witty and often uncouth entertainment this stage provided, Al Sha’abi soon became quite popular, especially
Lidia Qattan
when lampooning on a public figure became the cliché of its plots .
Originally “Al Sha’abi” was part of the Boy-Scouts activity; later, when the Social Affairs and Labor Department was established in 1957, it was put under its patronage to conform to certain written rules that curbed the lampooning.
Till the early sixties, Al Sha’abi was improvising its plays, whose plots portrayed the Kuwaiti society in transition from traditional to modern.
Frank criticism on what was going on in town, especially at the administrative level, was not only stirring people to laughter, but also made them think about what was going on around them.
The plot usually verged on a true incident, and each actor had to play in the best of his ability the part of the character he chose, while improvising his dialogue in response to that of the others.
This is easier said than done on stage when actors have to maintain the fluidity of the plot.
During rehearsal, notes were taken down to serve as a guideline to the sequence of the play, which every actor had to follow in order to master his dialogue.
The actors also had to make their own outfit; the stage itself was a makeshift platform with a naked bulb hanging over it to light up the place.
The whole set up was a crude affair, but because of its novelty and there was no other distractions in town, it quickly gained a large audience.
Because of its liberal policy and witty productions Al Sha’abi became a magnet attracting talented young actors and playwrights. Material for a play was all around them.
The spectators’ reaction during performance also provided a guide for actors whether to continue or to divert from their line of performance.
But their burlesques on the follies of their time became so daring that the authorities had to step in to curb them.
That was the time when the Department of Social Affair and Labor was established and, as mentioned Al Sha’abi came under its control.
Henceforth the stage group continued its production of plays following the same cliché, under the direction of Mohammed Al Nasmi, a talented playwright and founding member of the Al Sha’abi, along with Hamad Alrjaib, Agab Al Qateeb, Ahmad Al Nasmi and others.
Although Al Sha’abi continued providing the uncouth form of entertainment appreciated by its public, criticism on public figure became more evasive.
However the production of its hilarious plays and uncouth humor kept increasing its popularity making Al Sha’abi a powerful mean in awakening public interest in drama.
Soon after Abdulrahman completed his formal education at the Mubarakia School, he took a secretarial job at the financial sector of the Health Department, at the same time he continued his education by reading avidly on all subjects, especially literature.
His experience on stage during his school days awakened a strong interest in drama, prompting him to read avidly on the subject, making him familiar with the discipline and the technical skills needed during performance and the production of a play.
Abdulrahman joined Al Sha’abi group at the time the written plays was implemented and young dilettanti were sent abroad in a scholarship to study drama. Sent to Cairo in 1957, Abdulrahman found in the Egyptian capital an intellectual atmosphere at once absorbing and exhilarating. His term of study was brief, but during that time he became acquainted with all that gives warrant of excellence to the fine arts.
Mingling with eminent intellectuals and artists it broadened his view on new and old trends in the fine arts and helped him to form a more liberal opinion on what was going on around him.
Direct exposure to different forms of art also helped him to train his mental faculties and sensitive mind to appreciate that wise balance of forces upon which all true artistic achievements are based.
To the continued