"The Emperors New Clothes", a Fiction-Based Play, al-Kasaba

A photograph of the performance of al-Kasaba Theatre and Cinematheque children theatre production, "The Emperors New Clothes." Adapted from the Danish creative writer, Hans Christian Andersen's short tale, "The Emperors New Clothes" by George Ibrahim, the play tells the story an emperor, who was so excessively fond of new clothes, that he spent all his money on his clothes. He does not care about his people and their security. He has a different suit for each hour of the day. To fuel his luxurious activity, the emperor imposes hefty taxes on his people. One day, the emperor declares a prize for the one that could design and sew him a novel dress. A local dressmaker makes up his mind to sew an illusion dress and convinces the emperor how beautiful this illusion dress is. The emperor wears the dress and goes out on the street to show off the beauty of his new dress. Out of fear, the people chant how well-cut the emperor’s dress is; there comes a little boy trumpeting the truth, "the emperor is naked." Acted by Mahmud ʿawad, ʿimad Farajin, Fady al-Ghul, Manal Farid, Khalid al-Maṣṣou, the play featured several songs that were written by Ibrahim and composed by Jamil as-Sayeh.