We are excited to reopen our interactive workshops at Dar al Athar al Islamiyyah on 25 September !
A MESSAGE FROM OUR FOUNDER & DIRECTOR
Alison Shan Price MBE (awarded for services to Dramatic Arts in Kuwait and The Middle East), FRGS (Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society)
Head of the KUWAIT LAMDA Examination Centre and International Representative of examinations.
Welcome to Our Season 2021-22!
It has been 22 years since we launched our first multicultural theatre training programmes in Kuwait, in 1999, under the name KAST, and I am so proud of every single alumni, no matter what field they went into. Many are now doing so well, around the world, in the professional entertainment business. All are unique.
With last season moving effortlessly online in the pandemic as we all flew to our native countries, workshops and LAMDA Examinations hosted by LAMDA in London entered the virtual medium. Congratulations to all our candidates who had tremendous success in their Acting, Public Speaking and Reading for Performance examinations Entry to accredited Level 3 (which offer university credits). We look forward to running our next session of online exams in Public Speaking, Musical Theatre and the Shakespeare Awards in our first term. Thank you to the dedication of our international tutors Hamad al Jenaie, Head of Musical Theatre, Jumel Carvajal, and Eleni Price who administered the examinations.
We are excited to reopen our interactive workshops at Dar al Athar al Islamiyyah on 25 September and are currently in preparation for our seasonal productions.
OWAC EDUCATION
Hitting the ground running, from July to December our Education Department ran our interactive and empowering YAS Young Actors Studio and Actors Studio (16+) training programmes and online presentations.
Remembering our PRE-PANDEMIC PRODUCTIONS of 2019
OWAC’s Production House opened the Season, with a sold-out Theatre-in-the-Round production of the heart-warming play of Michelle Magorian’s children’s book, adapted for stage by David Wood, and under license by Samuel French Ltd. Goodnight Mr Tom, hosted by TAQA Productions. Starring Brian McLaughlin as Mr Tom and Boris Mihaylov as William Beech, our Actors and Youth Companies brought tears to and laughter from our 1940 costumed audience .
OCTOBER: Living History in Arabia
1. 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 archeological digs, ended with a tremendous tour of the children’s museum of the al Sabah Collection, led by DAI mini docents.
2. 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.
NOVEMBER: National Premiere of HAMLET
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.
DECEMBER 2019: OWAC & THE KUWAIT CENTRE LAMDA EXAMINATIONS AWARD CEREMONY
Kindly hosted by international art patron Sheikha Paula al Sabah and Sheikha Yasmine al Sabah in which we were honoured to present The Dame Judi Dench Shakespeare Award to Hamad al Jenaie, of Kuwait. Thank you so much for your tremendous support of our Shapearean programmes, Dame Judi! Our Guests of Honour were Dr Lavinia Davenport, of The British Embassy, and Dr Joyce Mordecai.
Congratulations Hamad al Jenaie, Director, Actor and Recipient of The Dame Judi Dench Shakespeare Award !
Hamad (dir: Woman in Black, Sweeney Todd, Shakespeare in the Park) 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 Exeptional 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.
Winners:
JANUARY, 2020: @daikuwait
We celebrated entering the new decade by relocating our training programmes to Dar al Athar al Islamiyyah, Yarmouk Cultural Centre.
We are in gratitude to H.H. Sheikha Hussa al Sabah, Director General of the Dar and Al Sabah Art Collection, for her tremendous support. We thank Hooda Shawa and TAQA Productions for their invaluable support over the years.
MARCH: INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
Celebrating with our outstanding actresses. Powerful women. Passionate about what they believe in.
GOING ONLINE:
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
SUMMER 2020
We are delighted to have our second publication in the UK WORD MATTERS, the Journal of Teachers of Speech and Drama, 70.1 ( Summer, 2020)
Our YAS Summer Performances 2020.
During the lockdown together 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.
One World Actors Centre 