The Cairo International Monodrama Days Festival, chaired by Dr. Osama Raouf, honors the Spanish artist “Rafael Benito” during the eighth edition of the festival held from October 2 to 6, under the patronage of Dr. Ahmed Fouad Heno, Minister of Culture.

Rafael Benito was born in Madrid in 1958. In 1984, he completed his studies at the Royal Higher School of Dramatic Art and Dance in Madrid, graduating under Angel Gutierrez, a director trained at the Moscow Art Theatre.

His theatrical career evolved over the years, combining several artistic fields. As a stage designer, he created designs for several troupes, notably the design he presented for the First Drama Theatre in Moscow for the play “Horns of Don Friolera” by the writer Valle-Inclán.

As a playwright and director, Rafael Benito has presented 22 theatrical productions, including: “East Wind, Al Rasso, Ibsa the Hunter, Star Road, Between Heaven and Earth, The Great Treasure in the Forest, The Princess and the Dragon, Imagine the Books, Caricatures, Stories from Bulur, Adventures of Isoja, Pills and Disappointments, The Doll, Dreams, Laboratory, Know to Learn, Cristobal Borshinella, Media Trom, Engine Makina, Little Flower, Horses.”

He also directed 11 plays by other authors, including: “The Horse” by Aeschylus, “Woyzeck” by Büchner, “Theft in Venice” by Gianni Rodari, “Van Gogh, Society’s Suicide” by Antonin Artaud (with music by Dmitri Shostakovich), “Here and There, America,” in addition to several joint productions such as “Kambalashi” by Javier Villafañe and Otto Freina, “Soldier of History” by Igor Stravinsky and Rafael Benito, “Uti est Christus” a 13th-century liturgical drama, “Macbeth, We Are That Forgetting” by William Shakespeare.

He was appointed theatrical advisor to the Madrid community between 1989 and 1992, a position that led to the establishment of the Madrid Theatre Network. Since 1992, he moved to Salasahar (Burgos), where he founded the Alouda Teatro troupe, which he manages and owns its own venue “La Realidad Theatre,” where its theatrical productions are presented, in addition to hosting other troupes and open shows for the public.

Over the years, his artistic career has been accompanied by tours inside Spain and abroad, with his troupe participating in 228 national and international festivals. He also complements his work as artistic director of Alouda Teatro by teaching “Music in the Scene” courses specialized in training actors and singers, as well as “Animamadera” courses for teaching puppet-making.