Alfred Farag
Encyclopedia
Alfred Farag – 4 December 2005 ) was one of the eminent
Egyptian playwrights of the post 1952 Revolution period. He obtained his BA in English Literature from the Faculty of Arts, Alexandria University
in 1949. He took up the teaching career till 1955 when he abandoned it for a post in the press as a critic. He worked in several press institutions; for instance, “Rosa al Yousef”, “Eltahrir” and “Algomhouriyya”.
Farag took a part in the establishment of the public management for the “massculture” project and in the foundation of artistic groups in Egypt. He also had an important role in the introduction of theatre in Egypt’s provinces. He, with many great writers like Noaman Ashour, Saad Eddin Wahba, Michael Roman, Rashad Roushdy and Yousef Edrees, contributed in the “nothing like” renaissance of theatre in the sixties.
Alfred Farag wrote his first play “Fall of Pharaoh” (1957) at the age of 26, then he proceeded his career as a writer. He wrote about 52 plays such as “The Barber of Baghdad” (1964), “Sulayman Al-Halabi” (1965), “Al-Zayr Salim” (1967) and “Atwa with the Jack-Knife” (1993), in addition to some one-act plays such as “Voice of Egypt” (1956) and “The Trap” (1965). In his plays, he discusses serious issues like the problem of national independence in the “The Epistles of the Judge of Seville” (1987), and the Palestinian issue in “Fire and Olives” (1970). Some of his works were translated into German and English such as “Ali Janah Al - Tabrizi and his Servant Quffa” (1969) or into English only such as “Marriage on a Divorce Notification” (1973). In addition to being a playwright, he also wrote novels such as “The Story of the Lost Time” (1977) and “The Days and Nights of Sindbad” (1988), and short stories.
In his writings, he eloquently mixed the Egyptian Colloquial Arabic with the Standard Arabic which made his works unique and easy for people to understand. Critics got interested in Farag's drama language as it was vivid and far from the formal style used by his predecessors. He believed that the language should contribute in giving a “visual” illustration of the text What made him different from others is that he revived the old heritage on stage as if it was real, and that he used heritage without getting superficial.
Farag was granted several international, Arab and Egyptian awards and medals. The best known award was “Jerusalem” given by the General Union for the Arab Writers as he was the first Egyptian intellectual to receive such an award. He also received the National Award for Playwrighting in 1965, and the Science and Arts Medal of the first order in 1967.
Farag died on 4 December 2005 at the age of 76 in the St Mary's Hospital, London after a long term of illness. He was buried in Alexandria
.
Egyptian playwrights of the post 1952 Revolution period. He obtained his BA in English Literature from the Faculty of Arts, Alexandria University
Alexandria University
Alexandria University is a university in Alexandria, Egypt. It was established in 1938 as a satellite of Fuad University , becoming an independent entity in 1942. It was known as Farouk University until the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 when its name was changed to the University of Alexandria...
in 1949. He took up the teaching career till 1955 when he abandoned it for a post in the press as a critic. He worked in several press institutions; for instance, “Rosa al Yousef”, “Eltahrir” and “Algomhouriyya”.
Farag took a part in the establishment of the public management for the “massculture” project and in the foundation of artistic groups in Egypt. He also had an important role in the introduction of theatre in Egypt’s provinces. He, with many great writers like Noaman Ashour, Saad Eddin Wahba, Michael Roman, Rashad Roushdy and Yousef Edrees, contributed in the “nothing like” renaissance of theatre in the sixties.
Alfred Farag wrote his first play “Fall of Pharaoh” (1957) at the age of 26, then he proceeded his career as a writer. He wrote about 52 plays such as “The Barber of Baghdad” (1964), “Sulayman Al-Halabi” (1965), “Al-Zayr Salim” (1967) and “Atwa with the Jack-Knife” (1993), in addition to some one-act plays such as “Voice of Egypt” (1956) and “The Trap” (1965). In his plays, he discusses serious issues like the problem of national independence in the “The Epistles of the Judge of Seville” (1987), and the Palestinian issue in “Fire and Olives” (1970). Some of his works were translated into German and English such as “Ali Janah Al - Tabrizi and his Servant Quffa” (1969) or into English only such as “Marriage on a Divorce Notification” (1973). In addition to being a playwright, he also wrote novels such as “The Story of the Lost Time” (1977) and “The Days and Nights of Sindbad” (1988), and short stories.
In his writings, he eloquently mixed the Egyptian Colloquial Arabic with the Standard Arabic which made his works unique and easy for people to understand. Critics got interested in Farag's drama language as it was vivid and far from the formal style used by his predecessors. He believed that the language should contribute in giving a “visual” illustration of the text What made him different from others is that he revived the old heritage on stage as if it was real, and that he used heritage without getting superficial.
Farag was granted several international, Arab and Egyptian awards and medals. The best known award was “Jerusalem” given by the General Union for the Arab Writers as he was the first Egyptian intellectual to receive such an award. He also received the National Award for Playwrighting in 1965, and the Science and Arts Medal of the first order in 1967.
Farag died on 4 December 2005 at the age of 76 in the St Mary's Hospital, London after a long term of illness. He was buried in Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
.
See also
- List of Copts
- Lists of Egyptians