“An important part of cinema, theatre and TV in Egypt and the Arab nation”. That’s how Egypt’s Minister of Culture Inas Abdel-Dayem described the work of dramatist Faisal Nada, who died last Tuesday. He had been struggling with illness. He was 81.
Born on April 7, 1940 in Abdeen, Cairo, he graduated in accounting from Cairo University, in 1963. But he preferred words to numbers and joined the university’s theatre group. He took up play writing started while studying.
He began writing in the late 1960s and within ten years, he had established himself as one of Egypt’s most promising scriptwriters, working in cinema, TV and radio.
His first television series was Harib min al-Ayyam (A Fugitive of the Days), which was a groundbreaking work in Egyptian television history, and launched many stars, including Abdallah Gheith.
In 1974, he returned to writing plays with Min Agl Hefnat Nissa (For a Bunch of Women) and it was with the 1976 comedy play Al-Mutazawwagoon that Nada found commercial success. The cast included Egyptian luminaries Samir Ghanem, Shereen and George Sedhom. The play, which tackles themes of class division and matrimonial issues, was a hit with critics and audiences. It was also hailed for reinvigorating Egyptian theatre at a time of decline.
There is also one of the successful plays by scriptwriter Faisal Nada, “Welcome Doctor”, starring Samir Ghanem, George Sidhom, Dalal Abdel Aziz, Eva, Magdy Kamel, Ibrahim Nasr, and its events revolve around two doctors who are friends, but they are completely different.
Nada also wrote the scripts for several acclaimed films, including the 1970 action thriller El-Achrar, the 1984 comedy drama Ya Rab Walad, and the 1986 romcom Hob Fawq El-Sahab.
Nada’s scripts, despite being varied in genre and style, were admired for their ability to capture the subtleties of Egyptian society. He remained an active contributor to Egyptian culture until his later years. His last works include the 2011 series Azwaj fi Warta and the 2018 radio play Hareb min Ish Al-Zawjiya.
Nada owned the Faisal Nada Theatre (also known as the Hoda Sharaawy Theatre, which was built in 1923 and played host to Egypt’s musical icons Om Kalthoum and Abdel Wahab), which has recently been advertising an upcoming play called ‘Ahebak Ah, Atgawizak La’ (I’ll Love You, Yes, Marry You, No).
Nada co-founded the Cairo and Alexandria film festivals, two major annual events in Egypt.
