Arab Puppetry Forum Cairo Highlights Rubu Qarn Puppetry Centre And Chairs Performance

Members of Rubu’ Qarn for Theatre and Performing Arts’ Puppet Arts Centre are representing the UAE at the fifth Arab Puppetry Forum in Cairo, held from 20th to 24th January 2026. The delegation joins the event at the invitation of the Arab Theatre Authority, in cooperation with the Cairo Puppet Theatre under Egypt’s Ministry of Culture.

The Puppet Arts Centre, described as the only specialised puppetry centre in the region and an initiative of Rubu’ Qarn Centre for Theatre and Performing Arts, is taking part to showcase its work and experience. The participation highlights the Centre’s regional role in puppetry and connects its members with a wider Arab theatre community.

The Forum programme features the UAE production "Chairs", presented by the Puppet Arts Centre as an international contribution. The work underlines the Centre’s goal to empower members, develop technical skills in puppetry, and encourage focused training by engaging with advanced Arab practices and established platforms dedicated to this specialised art.

"Chairs" is staged as a silent performance with a strong musical and visual identity, using movement, rhythm, and symbolic images to address human reflections without spoken dialogue. The show depends on visual composition and physical action for storytelling, and the Emirati participation illustrates diverse contemporary artistic directions within puppetry across the region.

This participation creates a platform for Puppet Arts Centre members to interact with a specialised Arab audience and meet puppetry professionals. It supports the exchange of artistic and technical experience, expands their theatrical perspectives, and strengthens recognition of the Emirati contribution within focused Arab cultural events centred on puppetry and performance.

The Forum involvement also helps deepen members’ specialisation in puppetry through exposure to different Arab artistic models and structured professional dialogue. It enhances creative and cognitive abilities in this field and supports the Puppet Arts Centre’s position as a key regional hub for puppetry, aligned with its ongoing work to build skills and opportunities for its community.

With inputs from WAM