A MESSAGE FROM OUR FOUNDER & CEO : ALISON SHAN PRICE MBE FRGS

After two years online meeting together in our homes around the world due to Lockdown we were excited to reopen our Production House and interactive Theatre Workshops at Dar al Athar al Islamiyyah in Kuwait on 25 September 2022. The House is open for business !

Our Production House was delighted to be invited to present two productions under the auspices of the National Council for Culture Arts & Letters as part of the 27th Cultural Season of Dar Al Athar Al Islamyyah at the kind invitation of H.H. Sheikha Hussa Sabah al Salem al Sabah.

The two productions were William Shakespeare’s The Tempest directed by Associate Director Hamad al Jenaie with Nader Abdullah in the lead role of Prospero supported by One World Actors and Intermediate One World Youth Actors and Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage directed by Alison Shan Price with Laila al Qadhi in the lead role of Anna Ferling supported by a cast of twenty multicultural One World Actors.

ONE WORLD ACTOR CENTRE PRODUCTION HOUSE

ONE WORLD ACTOR EDUCATION

THEATRE IN EDUCATION T.I.E. WORKSHOPS

 Our Theatre in Education T.I.E. workshop: Gertrude Bell Explores Arabia

In association with The Children’s Art Workshop CAW at The DAI Amricani Cultural Centre, and with the kind support of ‘The Gertrude Bell Exhibition'(UNESCO protected) @Newcastle University OWAC bought the History of Arabia to children through drama. Accompanying Gertrude (played by workshop creator, Alison Shan Price) in travel, shopping in the Arabic Souks (markets), learning to ride a camel, desert raids and archaeological digs, ended with a tremendous tour of the children’s museum of the al Sabah Collection, led by DAI mini docents.

LIVING HISTORY PERFORMANCE

Our original production, for the Gulf Festival The Place I Call Home: At Home with the Dicksons

Presented at the Dickson House Cultural Centre as part of the ‘120 Year Celebrations of UK -Kuwait Friendship’ kwuk120, sponsored by the British Council, The Kuwait National Council for Culture Arts & Letters,  The British Embassy, DAI & Ffotogallery Wales.

Brian McLaughlin as Lt. Colonel Harold Dickson, milk-brother of the Anizah tribe, British Political Agent 1929-37) and Kuwait Oil Company  liaison officer for H.H. Sheikh Ahmad al Sabah,(1937-59), Alison Shan Price, as Dame Violet Dickson, who lived in Kuwait until 1990, and Hamad al Jenaie as the property manager Mohammed.

SHAKESPEAREAN WORKSHOPS AND EDUCATIONAL Q &A SESSIONS FOR UNIVERSITIES & SCHOOLS

Hamad al Jenaie’s HAMLET  by William Shakespeare, as part of the 25th Cultural Season of Dar al Athar al Islamiyyah  and The National Council for Culture Arts & Letters, took Kuwait by storm. It included schools & university session for examination purposes and Media interviews. Starring Yousef al Nasser as Hamlet the production, set in a mental asylum focussed on contemporary themes of mental trauma caused by loss, betrayal, being unable to speak and continual observation.

 

ONE WORLD ACTORS CENTRE  & THE KUWAIT CENTRE LAMDA EXAMINATIONS AWARD CEREMONIES

Kindly hosted annually by international art patron Sheikha Paula al Sabah and Sheikha  Yasmine al Sabah  and attended by the Guest of Honour, HM Ambassador to Kuwait.   

Congratulations to Hamad al Jenaie, Producer, Director, Actor and Recipient of The Dame Judi Dench Shakespeare Award !

Hamad (dir: Woman in Black, Sweeney Todd, Shakespeare in the Park, Hamlet, The Tempest )

Hamad is an Associate Artist of One World Actors Centre, holding Gold Medals at Grade 8, in Musical Theatre & Acting from LAMDA, London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and the LAMDA Shakespeare Certificate (with Distinction). Hamad  is also the recipient of The Adam Darius Award for Exceptional Performance, 2017, and The Alison Shan Price Award for International Drama, 2018. It is a privilege to have Hamad as a member of our Creative Team.

 

‘ONE’ : CELEBRATING DIVERSITY 

Celebrating with our outstanding actresses. Powerful women. Passionate about what they believe in.

GOING ONLINE (2020-21).

Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, sadly our contact programmes and shows were postponed during the crisis, including HAMLET’S international premiere  at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2020.

However, we have been very active in our online programme with our students in different parts of the world participating in  Speech, Acting and Storytelling programmes. And Nurse Tia went viral with a message for children.

Nurse Tia with her own script and costume

ONLINE PERFORMANCES 

During the Lockdown we created presentations based on the powerful stories of our icons of the past through their voices. Here are a few of our wonderful characters.

 

 The Blue Box: Memories Of The Children Of War based on stories from the book The Blue Box  received a standing ovation at the World Premiere at DAI Cultural Centre in Kuwait in April 2016 and a coveted 5- star rating at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2016,  for its heartfelt portrayal of the stories of children affected by war.

 

The bilingual English-Arabic production premiered under the patronage of H.E. Sheikha Paula al Sabah and Sheikha Yasmine al Sabah at Dar Noor Kuwait in November 2015. In April 2016 it received its World Premiere at DAI Yarmouk Cultural Centre under the National Council of Culture, Arts and Letters in April 2016 to sell-out audiences. With a cast of  forty of our multicultural actors, the production explored different perspectives and stories of children affected by war, as told in the blue box. In August 2016 it received its International Premiere at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe produced by Eleni Price.

 

 

Based on the book by Syrian- French teenager Emma Abdullah and current issues and adapted for stage by  Director Alison Shan Price, the production  was accompanied by original music and songs by Harriet Petherick Bushman and Arabic script by Dr Diana Sfeir. Costumes were designed by Abdala al Awadhi of Kuwait with a backdrop by UN award winning photographer Islam Mardini of Aleppo, Syria.

We give gracious thanks to our sponsors, without whom the production would not have been possible:

Alghanim Industries (Platinum)

The Dar Al Athar Al Islamiyyah (White Gold)

JAMM Art Advisory and Dar Noor (Gold)

Al Abjar Holdings (Bronze)

Ian & Friends (Pearl)

CEE Kuwait (Media)

TAQA Kuwait and Bayt Lothan Cultural Centre

ANTIGONE: AN ARABIAN TRAGEDY completed its international run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival on 15th August 2015 after a week at Greenside Venues Nicholson Square, Edinburgh. It ‘fascinated’ audience members and received a 4-star review from premiere online reviewer Broadway Baby.

Spanning 2000 years, the production revolved around how the story of Antigone is universally repeated throughout the ages to the same climatic result. For ‘when your name is Antigone, there is only one part you can play, and she must play hers through to the end.’

The production was bilingual English/Arabic and starred Diana Sfeir as the modern Arabian Antigone with Eleni Rebecca as her shadowy celtic counterpart. Both actresses were accompanied by Hamad Al Jenaie and Brian McLaughlin as Creon, Yousef Al Nasser and Ali Naser as Haemon, Frank Cannizzo as Cpt. Jonas and Nour Bizri as Ismene.

Directed by One World CEO Alison Shan Price, It was featured as one of AlWaleed Centre ‘Top Picks’ of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival due to its representation of Arabian Culture and is currently long-listed of the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award 2015.

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