Rawd Al-Farag Cultural Palace hosted the theatrical play “Journey of Lady Earth” as part of the closing festival for children’s theater groups and clubs in its first edition, “The Late Writer Yacoub Al-Sharouni Edition,” sponsored by Dr. Ahmed Fouad Hano, Minister of Culture, and organized by the General Authority for Cultural Palaces, headed by Major General Khaled El-Laban, running until September 2, within the Ministry of Culture’s programs.

The play, by the Port Fouad Cultural House group, was written by Mohamed Khudair and directed by Hisham Al-Attar. It was attended by writer Mohamed Nasif, advisor to the Authority’s Chairman for Artistic and Cultural Affairs, and the judging panel consisting of Dr. Walid Al-Shahawi, Dr. Hossam Mohsen, Dr. Mohamed Hassanein, Dr. Osama Mohamed Ali, and Naglaa Allam, with the presence of Radwa Al-Qasbaji, Director of Children’s Theater and Music Department and Executive Director of the festival.

The story symbolically revolves around the Earth’s anger due to the worsening ozone hole and the resulting climate changes and the sun’s rays approaching it, leading the Earth to decide to escape far away.

Director Hisham Al-Attar explained that the play carries an important awareness message about the environment and the dangers of pollution, especially industrial emissions and their impact on the ozone layer, presented in an engaging dramatic context and a simplified style suitable for children.

He added that the Earth is personified as a living being complaining about human neglect and violations. The story follows children on a journey searching for the “Earth,” which expresses its pain and sadness, and they ultimately discover that the solution lies in cooperation, commitment to preserving it, and spreading a culture of peace for a clean environment.

Actress Fatma Hassan said, “I play the role of the ‘Teacher,’ who engages in enjoyable dialogue with the children, giving them space to interact and learn.”

She explained that the idea stems from a school competition that transforms into an artistic space to launch an unconventional contest where children act as planets and learn about climate and the ozone layer, combining entertainment and knowledge, aiming to instill environmental preservation values in new generations.

Child actor Asr Ahmed said, “I play the role of ‘Teacher Katkoot,’ a character who loves knowledge and has great awareness, presenting information to children in an engaging way to instill in them a love for discovery and a desire to learn about the world around them, in an educational and entertaining framework.”

Regarding scenography, Youssef Al-Shaer explained that simple designs and visual elements inspired by planet shapes were created to help children imagine living inside a space world. Safe materials like fabric and plastic were used for models, ensuring they are large and visually impressive on stage to match the lighting.

He pointed out that creating the space costumes was the biggest challenge, requiring innovative solutions to make them luminous and consistent with stage lighting and space atmosphere, using internal lights and colors reflecting each planet’s nature, along with cardboard accessories to highlight details. The school clothes were realistic to emphasize the contrast between the real and imaginary worlds.

Heba Darwish, responsible for sound effects, revealed that she used various effects suited to each artistic scene, noting that each scene has its own character requiring distinctive sound processing.

She added that she employed special techniques to highlight fine details and provide the audience with a clearer sound experience that enhances the dramatic mood and connects viewers with the events.

“Journey of Lady Earth” features: Fatma Hassan, Rimas Ahmed Taha, Ronza Mohamed, Farah Ayman, Zain El-Din Ahmed, Zeina Ayman, Asr Ahmed, Mondher Mohamed, Yahya Ahmed, Ali Mohamed, Noray Ashraf, Farah Ashraf, Mohamed Walid, Lami Ahmed, Bilal Al-Moataz Bellah, Zain Mohamed, Bella Al-Moataz Bellah, Tala Mohamed, Mohamed Omar, Ruqayya Walid, and Salim Ahmed.

Performers include: Hagar Ahmed, Malek Amr, Eyad Abdo, Hamza Ahmed, Yasser Mohamed, Alia Mahmoud, Lia Mohamed, and Faris Wasim.

Poetry by Mohamed Abdelkader, choreography design by Amr Agami, decor and costume supervision by Youssef Al-Shaer, decor design by Atef Zarmba, decor execution by Rifaat Hegazy, costume execution by Yomna Abdelmonem, masks by Gandro Hani, music composition and arrangement by Mohamed Al-Ajmi, sound and lighting execution by Mai Al-Razqi, and executive director Hussein Ezz El-Din.

The festival is supervised by the Central Administration for Studies and Research headed by Dr. Hanan Mousa, the festival’s executive president, and the General Administration for Children’s Culture headed by Dr. Jehan Hassan, festival director, in cooperation with the six cultural regions affiliated with the authority, offering free performances at Rawd Al-Farag Cultural Palace theater.

The closing festival for children’s theater groups crowns a full year of work and creativity within the cultural regions, reflecting the General Authority for Cultural Palaces’ commitment to instilling creative values and developing artistic sensibility among future generations.

Today’s events continue with the play “The Best Friends” by Port Said Cultural Palace group, written by Sameh Al-Razqi and directed by Mohamed Al-Dosouki, showing at 8 PM.