By Manal Abdel Fattah
During the first week of March, the Spanish theater group “Abrego Teatro”, consisting of director and writer Patti Domenech and actress Maria Pidal, will be in Egypt in order to present an expanded artistic and cultural program in the Qena Governorate in southern Egypt, in the context of the eighth edition of the theatrical festival. International Youth Forum of the South.
With the support of the Spanish Embassy in Egypt, the aforementioned troupe will present the play “Bride of the Winds” on March 2 in the city of Qena, which is an artistic work inspired by an important stage in the life of the surrealist artist Leonora Carrington, who in her twenties lived the most terrifying experience of her life in the city.
Santander. Leonora was the inspiration for the artist Max Ernst, who called her the “Bride of the Wind.” While staying in a mental asylum, Leonora suffered an attempt to psychologically destroy her and erase her creative abilities.
Far from not being the case, Leonora was a champion of all causes and a true feminist, and enjoyed a long life of love and artistic creativity in Mexico.
The play “Bride of the Winds” was written and directed by Patty Dominic, and the acting role will be performed by artist Maria Bedal.
In addition, the festival will honor the aforementioned Spanish director and his theater group in order to pay tribute to his artistic career. On the sidelines of the festival, the troupe will present a training workshop in drama and directing for advanced theater students on the African continent.
The festival is organized every year by the “S Foundation for Culture and Creativity,” which is a cultural institution that aims to spread cultural awareness and support talent in various artistic and cultural fields, as well as preserving Egyptian heritage and handicrafts.
Abrego Teatro is an internationally acclaimed theater group based in the Cantabria region of northern Spain. The band has presented its artistic works on several theaters on five continents for more than twenty years. In 2023, the band participated in the seventh edition of the same festival and won several awards at the time: Best Female Performance (Maria Pidal), in addition to other awards for direction, scenography, and best show. Patti Dominic is a director and writer of about twenty theatrical artistic works, which have been presented in more than forty countries around the world and translated into several languages, including Arabic, French, English, German, Bulgarian, Serbian, Greek, and Italian. Maria Pidal – who has been on the scene for more than thirty years – is an actress who has presented all kinds of dramatic performances, and she is the only European actress to win two awards in the same year: the Individual Performance Award from the Latin Actors Association, and the Best Foreign Actress Award from the Critics Association, where she She received the two aforementioned awards from New York City.
