Theatre Focus at Sixth Emirates Airline Festival of Literature Adult Fringe

Dubai, 13 February 2014 – The sixth edition of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature brings with it performances at the Fringe packed with theatrical fun – and it’s free! 

Be entertained with the Festival Fringe at the Intercontinental Hotel, Festival City on March 6 and 7.

Since its inception three years ago, the Fringe for adults has showcased an array of locally based talent celebrating the written and spoken word through various performing arts.  This year sees a focus on theatre.

“The interest for theatre has been growing steadily in Dubai, and the UAE, for that matter, over the past few years,” said Lara Matossian-Roberts who puts the Fringe programme together. “There are a few new theatre groups and, so far, it’s been a very busy season indeed!”

This year, the Fringe sees the return of Dubai Drama Group with their thematically befitting adaptation of Steven Berkoff’s Metamorphosis based on Franz Kafka’s novella of the same name. In their interpretation of Metamorphosis, Dubai Drama Group have set out to challenge Dubai theatre-going audiences through the use of Total Theatre and using ensemble movement to portray the psychological workings of both the man who has woken up to find that he has morphed into a giant insect and his family as they deal with the burden of looking after this grotesque creature.

Third Half Theatre also returns this year with their performance of Garçon, a play in English. Three men meet at a café and relate their experiences with The Girl... and then she walks in. At times humorous, at times poignant, Garçon is an exploration of the ephemeral nature of identity and relationships.

The Fringe newcomer this year is the Short+Sweet Festival.  Now in its second year, the Short+Sweet is a theatre festival of 10-minute plays offering locally based playwrights, directors and actors the chance to compete against one another over the course of three weekends.  The Fringe showcases this year’s top 8 plays.

Also new to the Fringe is Theatresports presented by the Courtyard Playhouse. Theatresports is a form of improvisational theatre, which uses the format of a competition for dramatic effect. Opposing teams can perform scenes based on audience suggestions, with ratings by the audience or by a panel of judges.

The Fringe takes place in Al Baraha 1A, Events Center, Intercontinental Hotel, Dubai Festival City and is not a ticketed event, so entrance is free of charge, and there is free seating. For show timings please visit the Fringe page on the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature website.

Now in its sixth year, the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature is the Middle East’s largest celebration of the written and spoken word, bringing people of all ages together with authors from across the world to promote education, debate and, above all else, reading.

The Festival will take place in Dubai from 4 to 8 March under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President & Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and in partnership with Emirates and the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated Authority for culture, arts, and heritage. The Festival is now part of the Emirates Literature Foundation, which was established last year by Royal decree.

For more details of the Festival please visit www.emirateslitfest.com.