Sudanese Children’s Puppet Festival 2926 : From Gedaref Theatre to Sudan
By: Farid Gebrail
In the bustling East-Sudanese City of Gedaref, the Children’s Puppets Show Festival was launchedd amidst an elegant and captivating presence of children, families and those who are concerned about arts and literature. From Gedaref theatre to Sudan and the world, Dr. Farid Gebrail recounts the details of jubilation on stage.
The Sudanese Children’s Puppet Theatre Festivall creatis a Space for Joy, Connection, and Healing through Art
In a country that has been at war since April 2023,. . Culture sometimes appears as a luxury that can be deferred until the crisis is over. Yet the experience of the Sudanese Children’s Puppet Theatre Festival in Gedaref offered a different answer: what if art did not wait for the hostilities to end before fullfiling its role in the lives of children and communities?
In August 2026, the second edition of the Sudanese Children’s Puppet Theatre Festival was held in Gedaref, initiated and organized by Gedaref Community Puppet Theatre, Sudan Puppet Group, as a continuation of its work with children and its commitment to puppet theatre. The group’s role went beyond presenting plays and performances. It developed and organized the festival programme, coordinated with participating theatre troupes , trainers, and artists, and opened the festival to artistic experiences from several Sudanese states.
The festival emerged at a time when opportunities for cultural activity havd shrunk due to war, displacement, and economic hardship. It affirmed that children should not have to wait for a crisis to end before reclaiming their right to play, imagine, and experience art. This vision was reflected in the slogan of the second edition: “Sudanese Children Deserve Joy.” that expressed an approach in which children are at the heart of the project, rather than simply being receipient of performances.
Here, joy does not mean escaping reality or over-looking children’s suffering. It means creating a different kind of space where children can play, imagine, interact, and laugh, and where they can encounter a world not defined entirely by war. Theatre cannot, by itself, heal the consequences of war, nor can it replace education or psycho- social care. But it can provide a n out-let for expression and communication, and help restore elements of ordinary life. These are small but meaningful contributions to social and human recovery.
The second edition brought together performances, training, and professional dialogue. Alongside Sudan Puppet Group, participating organizations included Ebhār Foundation for Literature and Arts from Khartoum State, Tolous Puppet Theatre from Kassala State, Atheer Arts for Children from Red Sea State, and Amal Theatre Group from Gedaref, in addition to children’s performance presentations.
The festival presented six main performances: “Thaloub’s Wisdom” and “Uncle Harrouj” by Sudan Puppet Group, “What’s Going On?” by Ebhār Foundation for Literature and Arts, “Princess Bodour” by Tolous Puppet Theatre, “The Forest of Goodness” by Amal Theatre Group, and “The Burnt Forest” by Atheer Arts for Children. The opening programme also featured the musical theatre piece “The Return.”
The festival was not limited to show-case performances. It also i encomoassed three specialized workshops in voical embodiment, sock puppetry, and creative writing, reaching a total of 76 participants. This demonstrated that the festival was conceived as more than a temporary series of performances. It sought to contribute to the development of knowledge and practical skills related to children’s theatre and puppetry.
The second edition also hosted a professional congregation of Sudanese puppeteers, providing a platform to discuss the current state and future of the profession and to exchange expertise . The gathering concluded with a set of recommendations, which were presented by Mr. Hamad Abdel Salam at the closing ceremony and subsequently submitted to the Director of the General Administration of Culture and Information. In this way, the festival added a professional dimension to its artistic and public role.
The performances and activities attracted large numbers of children, families, and people interested in the arts. This response reflected the community’s need for cultural spaces of this kind, particularly at a time when children’s opportunities to access theatre, the arts, and collective activities have significantly diminished.
It was also significant that postponing the festival’s original date did not bring child-focused activities to a halt. On 8 August 2026, the date initially scheduled for the festival’s opening, Sudan Puppet Group, in cooperation with the Global Child Care Organization and Shorouq Cultural Forum, held a celebration of Sudanese Children’s Day at Abu Al-Naga Camp (A). The event reaffirmed that the essence of the project is not tied to the festival dates alone, but to an ongoing effort to reach children, including those living under conditions of displacement.
The second edition was dedicated to Dr. Osman Mohammed Al-Badawi, while Dr. Saleh Abdel Qader was honored as the festival’s distinguished figure. As part of the tribute, a commemorative marker bearing Dr. Saleh Abdel Qader’s name was installed at the Gedaref Theatre premises, permanently connecting his name to the venue and to the festival’s memory. It was a symbolic reminder that honoring artists should not end when the ceremony is over. It can also leave a lasting mark or imprint on a place and in the memory of future generations.
From this perspective, the second edition can be understood as more than a festival of performances. It brought together children, audiences, artists, trainers, and puppeteers. It created opportunities for artists from various Sudanese states to meet and share a common stage. It offered training and professional dialogue, while connecting cultural activity with the realities facing children in a time of war and displacement.
Yet the project’s most important value may lie in the question it poses for the future: Can a festival that began in Gedaref grow into a sustainable Sudanese platform for children’s theatre and puppetry?
The answer will not be determined by the success of a single edition. It will depend on the project’s ability to continue and evolve, expand participation, document its experience, build meaningful partnerships, and preserve its artistic vision, with children at the center of the project.
The second edition demonstrated that culture cannot stop a war, but it can resist some of its effects on human beings. Theatre cannot erase pain, but it can give a child a moment of joy, a space for imagination, an opportunity to connect with others, and a reminder that life can be larger than the fear imposed by war.
This is where the story began, at Gedaref Community Puppet Theatre, Sudan Puppet Group. From there, its circle began to expand, bringing artists and children from different places together around a single stage.
From Gedaref to Sudan, the idea was not simply to create another festival. It was to affirm that Sudanese children, even in a time of war, still deserve to laugh, to play, to imagine, and to dream.
And t he curtain that fell on the second edition was not the end of the story, but it marked the beginning of a new responsibility: to keep this project alive and help it find its way from a local experience that began in Gedaref to a broader Sudanese cultural space.
About the Author:
Farid Rizq Allah Gebrail Azraq is
Actor, director, and puppeteer.
He is a graduate of the Youth and Children’s Palace, Drama Department, Class 19.
He is also a graduate of the University of the Nile, Faculty of Education, Drama Department.
He received Diploma in Puppet Theatre, UNESCO.
He is Founder of the first puppeteers’ union in the Arab world and Africa: and the Sudanese Puppeteers’ Union.
He is Sudan’s representative to the International Puppetry Union
(Union Internationale de la Marionnette).
He presented the first shadow theatre experiment in Sudan in 2015.
Moreover, he presented the first puppet theatre for adults in Sudan, with the play Al-Ara’isi (The Puppeteer), in 2026.