The first play

The knowledge department (the predecessor of the education ministry) was founded in Kuwait in 1936. In that year, the head of the Supreme Islamic Council in Jerusalem, Haj Ameen Al-Husseini, sent Palestinian teachers to teach in Kuwait side-by-side with the ones who were already here.

Those teachers contributed to developing the curriculums taught at Al-Mubarakiya School and one of the activities they introduced was the first play ever performed in Kuwait, titled ‘Omar’s Islam’. The play was performed by both teachers and students by the end of the 1935 school year. The performance was attended by the late Amir Sheikh Ahmed Al-Jaber AlSabah and other dignitaries. The actors included the late Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, the late teacher Mohammed Al-Maghrebi and the late student Abdullatif Al-Saleh. Most of the actors in that play have passed away.

A funny incident happened during the performance, when the late Mr Yaqoub Shammas, who was only 11 years old, had to play the role of Armanosa, the daughter of Al-Muqawqis, the ruler of Egypt during the early Muslim era. Because women and girls were not allowed to act then, he wore the clothes of a young girl with a crown on his head, but wore men’s footwear (Najdiya sandals), which elicited a lot of laughter amongst the audience attending the performance. A fire broke at the Amghara scrap market, said security sources, adding that firefighters managed to control the fire without reporting any casualties. An investigation is underway to determine the causes of the fire. — Al-Rai and Al-Anbaa