Quick Facts
Biography
Abdullah al-Saadawi (Arabic: عبد الله السعداوي; 1948 – 3 February 2024) was a Bahraini actor, director, and playwright.
Al-Saadawi won the Directing Award at the Cairo International Festival for Contemporary and Experimental Theatre for his production of the play الكمامة (“The Gag”). He was a founding member of several regional theatre companies, including Al-Sawari Theatre in Bahrain, the Al-Sadd Theatre in Qatar, and the Sharjah National Theatre in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Al-Saadawi's debut in theatre came in the mid-1960s, when his play, الحمار ومصقلة الإعدام (“The Donkey and the Executioner”), was directed by Jamal al-Saqr with some edits by the latter as مؤلف ضاع في نفسه (“A Writer Lost in Himself”). Soon afterwards, he helped the People's Union Theatre produce its first play in his native Muharraq, a production of “Antigone”.
Al-Saadawi died on 3 February 2024, at the age of 76.
Career
| Title | Type | Role in production | Theatre company | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| مؤلف ضاع في نفسه (A Writer Lost in Himself) | Play | Writer | 1964 | |
| انتيجون (Antigone) | Play | Actor | People's Union Theatre | 1970 |
| بيت ألاشباح (Ghost House) | Play | Actor | Al-Sadd Theatre | 1973 |
| خلود (Immortality) | Play | Actor | Al-Sadd Theatre | 1974 |
| علتنا فينا (Our Illness is Within Us) | Play | Actor | Al-Sadd Theatre | 1974 |
| الفريج (Al Freej) | Play | Actor | Sharjah National Theatre | 1975 |
| المشنقة (The Gallows) | Play | Director | Sharjah National Theatre | 1978 |
| خبز خبزت إكلة (Bread, I Baked a Meal) | Play | Director | Karzakan Sports Club | 1986 |
| سكوريال (Scorial) | Play | Director | Al-Sawari Theatre | 1993 |
| الكمامة (The Mask) | Play | Director | Al-Sawari Theatre | 1994 |
| الرهائن (Hostages) | Play | Director | Al-Sawari Theatre | 1995 |
| ليلة عرس رشدان (Rashdan's Wedding Night) | Play | Actor | Awal Theatre | 1997 |
| الكلمة الطيبة (The Good Word) | TV series | Actor | Bahrain TV | 1997 |
| الطفل البريء (The Innocent Child) | Play | Director | Al-Sawari Theatre | 1999 |
| مواطن طيب (Good Citizen) | Play | Director | Bahrain TV | 2003 |
| ابني المتعصب (My Fanatical Son) | Play | Director | Al-Sawari Theatre | 2003 |
| الشجرة التي سرقت اوراقها (The Tree Whose Leaves Were Stolen) | Film | Director | 2004 | |
| غبار (Dust) | Film | Director | 2008 | |
| أين الطريق (Where is the road?) | TV series | Actor | Qatar Television | 2008 |
| سماء ثانية (A Second Sky) | TV series | Actor | Sabah Pictures | 2011 |