Egypt has a rich and diverse cultural heritage and this richness is most manifest in the Arab country’s arts.
Egypt’s artistic heritage amounts to a treasure trove for art-lovers from all parts of the world.
Amr Salah is one of many people who were deeply influenced by this rich artistic heritage. His affection with puppetry started early on in his life when he first watched the popular ‘El lila el Kbera’ (The Big Night) operetta.
As a child, he saw the puppeteer manipulating the marionettes in the show and decided to become a marionette-maker himself.
The 1961 operetta, written by renowned poet Salah Jaheen and composed by iconic musician Sayed Mekkawi, had marionettes as its heroes and heroines. It is one of the most popular in Egypt until the present.
However, before embarking on a journey of marionette-making, Salah tried a number of other arts.
“I love drawing and sculpting since I was 12,” Salah told the Egyptian Mail. “I used to make shapes and figures out of clay.”
He tried drawing, using charcoal and pens. He also used fire to draw figures on wood.
“I tried woodwork, including by sculpting on wood,” Salah said.
Nonetheless, he discovered his passion for marionette-making four years ago.
For him, this practice combined his obsession with the ‘Big Night’ operetta, on one hand, and his love for sculpting.
Now, Salah is a professional marionette-maker, with an ability to manufacture all types of puppets.
He makes those puppets that can be manipulated with strings and wires and those like the ones that appear in the Muppet Show.
“It is a wonderful feeling to see the work you made with your own hands moving in front of your bare eyes and interacting with audiences,” Salah said with a smile glinting on his face.
“I do everything possible to make my puppets impressive,” he added.
Salah sees the message every marionette can send. The marionettes, he said, can also take people into a world of endless joy.
Each marionette, Salah added, can be made with a wide range of different materials, according to the purpose of each of these marionettes and the mechanisms they need to possess.
Marionettes can be made with wood, polyester, foam, or paper and glue.
It takes Salah between 20 days and a month to manufacture each of his impressive marionettes.
“It all depends on the capabilities each puppet needs to possesses,” Salah said.
Some puppets need to have moveable jaws and eyes, but others need to have fixed ones.
Salah gets ideas for his marionettes from his artistic memory.
“Each place in Egypt has a different print in its art,” Salah said. “Upper Egyptian art is different from art in the Nile Delta which in turn differs from the popular art form.
All theses art forms are as precious to artists like Salah as a treasure.
He sometimes gets orders for puppets that resemble the personalities of the people who order them or the celebrities they like.
Salah also has a travelling puppet theatre. The theatre has staged interesting shows, including ‘Aladdin and the Magical Lamp’.
He has already completed the decorations, accessories and recordings of the sounds of the show.
“I hope I can stage it very soon,” Salah said with eyes full of hope.
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