Short Story, Novel & Drama
- Born in 1929 in Sharqiya Governorate, Egypt.
- Worked as a teacher and later as a journalist in several newspapers and magazines, including Rose Al Yousef, Al Gomhuria, Akhbar El Youm and Dar Al-Hilal.
- His debut play ‘Suqoot Far’oun’ (Pharoah’s Fall) was produced by Egypt’s National Theatre in 1957
- In 1967, he was appointed as a literary consultant for mass culture at Egypt’s Ministry of Culture since.
- He worked as an adviser for Algerian TV (1974) and also worked at the Algerian Ministry of Higher Education between 1975 and 1979.
- He moved to England, where he worked as a cultural editor for many Arab newspapers there from 1975-1988.
- After his return to Cairo, the General Egyptian Book Organization published his complete works in 12 volumes.
- BA in English Literature – Faculty of Arts.
- UNESCO fellowship ( International Theatre Institute)
Decision of the General Secretariat :
Alfred Farag’s experiment in drama reveals the huge potential of employing classical Arabic heritage and evoking it in new creative contexts. It also reveals a clear vision, shaped by a genuine Arab sentiment and a human sense of openness along with a well-developed intellect.
All these factors go hand in hand with his distinguished talent to express two parallel missions, the first of which is the establishment of an Arab theatre that is not only open to heritage as a source, but that is also open to many new levels of theatrical techniques. The other mission is the variety of issues Alfred Farag tackled, which included a critique of the status quo, especially with regards to the development of power, the mind and social struggle, as well as underlining positive values in the Arab individual, and highlighting national Arab issues, especially the Palestinian cause.
Awards :
- Medal of Arts from the Supreme Council for the Arts and Letters, 1957.
- State Encouragement Award in Playwriting, 1965.
- Medal of Sciences and Arts of the First Order, 1967.
- The National Theatre’s Pioneer Shield, Golden Jubilee, 1986.
- Kuwait’s Gulf Theatre Pioneer Shield, Silver Jubilee, 1988.
- Pioneer Medal of Experimental Theatre Festival, Cairo, 1989.
- Pioneer Medal of Carthage Theatre Festival, 1989.
- Pioneer Medal of Mass Culture Festival, Cairo, 1988.
Famous Works :
- ‘Suqoot Far’oun’ (Pharoah’s Fall), 1956.
- ‘Sawt Masr’(Voice of Egypt), 1957.
- ‘Hallaq Baghdad’ (Barber of Baghdad), 1964.
- ‘Sulaiman Al Halabi’, 1965.
- ‘Daleel Al Mutafarrig Al Thaki’ (Handbook of Smart Audiences, a study), 1965.
- ‘Askar wa Haramiyya’ (Cops and Thieves), 1966.
- ‘Al Fakh’ (The Trap), 1966.
- ‘Baqbaq Al Kaslan’ (Baqbaq the Sloth), 1967.
- ‘Ali Jinah Al Tabreezi wa tabi’uhu Quffa’ (Ali Janah Al-Tabrizi and His Servant Quffa), 1969.
- ‘Hikayat Al Zaman Al Da’e fee Qarya Masriyya’ (The Story of Lost Time in an Egyptian Village, a novel), 1980.
He passed away on December 14, 2004.