Within the framework of the 19th edition of the UAE Festival for Child Theatre, running until the 27th of this month, the Ras Al Khaimah National Theatre troupe presented the play 'Innovation Village' two days ago at the stage of the Sharjah Culture Palace. Amidst a remarkable audience turnout, 'Innovation Village', written by Ali Jamal and directed by Ismail Salem, shed light on numerous educational and moral values, particularly emphasizing the importance of rejecting selfishness and fostering the principle of cooperation among community members, and affirming the foundations of love within the team, which is the key that elevates the group, society, and humanity. In a beautiful and safe village named 'Innovation', where its inhabitants live in love, tranquility, and peace, the mischievous girl Flavella, who arranges pranks and schemes to bully the team members, becomes a source of annoyance for the villagers. The village sage, however, seeks a solution to guide the girl back to the right path, despite others' demands to move her to another village. The sage organizes a competition aimed at guiding Flavella back to righteousness: she must abandon selfishness and bullying, and avoid pranks and creating problems. After a series of contests and challenges, the atmosphere of love returned to the village, and Flavella abandoned her negative traits, becoming a useful member of the community. The play successfully conveyed its messages to the young audience, and the director managed to craft a distinguished theatrical vision through solutions aimed at creating an atmosphere suitable for the play's concept, relying on the set design, its transformations, and transitions, as well as the lighting he used to reveal the characters' states and the scenes' moods. The actors Muhammad Matr, Ismail Salem, Dana Salam, Judy Al-Nabhani, Muhammad Qasr, Hasan Az-Zahuri, Luway Utfi, Aileen Mashab, and Abdurrahman Jihad also succeeded in delivering a polished, good, and child-friendly performance, especially Judy Al-Nabhani, who portrayed Flavella, managing to captivate the children with her graceful, precise, and conscious performance. The play is also credited with the effective use of music and songs, which served the play's concept and diligently helped convey it, in addition to the makeup, accessories, and costumes that gave the characters depth and crafted a joyful atmosphere in the performance.
