The First Shadow Puppet Festival by the Wamda Troupe at Beit El Sennari
The historic Beit El Sennari in Cairo, affiliated with the Cultural Outreach Sector of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, in collaboration with the Wamda Troupe for Puppetry and Shadow Theater, founded by Dr. Nabil Bahgat, is organizing the First Shadow Puppet Festival. The festival will take place on Wednesday, July 22nd and Thursday, July 23rd, 2026, at 7:30 PM at the historic Beit El Sennari in the Sayeda Zeinab district.
The festival features a diverse program combining art and knowledge. It includes an exhibition documenting the history of shadow puppetry, a cultural seminar exploring the origins, development, and importance of this art form in Egyptian and Arab folk heritage, and live shadow puppet performances by the Wamda Troupe. This experience revives one of the oldest folk arts, highlighting its artistic and cultural value and its role in preserving identity and heritage.
The festival is organized as part of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina's commitment to reviving traditional arts and preserving intangible cultural heritage, providing the public with an opportunity to experience authentic folk arts. This contributes to raising awareness of heritage and encouraging younger generations to engage with it.
It is worth noting that the "Wamda" puppet and shadow theater troupe was founded by Dr. Nabil Bahgat in 2003, and its motto is "We have something that can express us." The troupe performs regularly and has, since its inception, adopted an educational role in passing on the expertise of this art to new generations. It was among the first puppet troupes to organize specialized training workshops, offering more than 80 workshops both in Egypt and abroad, contributing to the preservation and dissemination of puppet and shadow theater as an integral part of Egyptian cultural heritage.
Performances are free and open to the public.
Beit El Sennari, Moung Alley, next to the Sunnia School, Sayeda Zeinab Square, Cairo
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