Mohammed Abdul Haq

A visually challenged Saudi student from a rural area has recently made his mark on international theater by acting in a play that described the life of physically and visually handicapped people.

Mohammed Abdul Haq, a student at Jazan University and the winner of the award, participated in the drama featuring a blind person’s life and won plaudits at the international level, according to Mohammed Al-Hamoud Habibi, dean of Jazan University.

Abdul Haq was part of a group of students from Jazan University that participated in the drama competition held in Poland.

The other students included Yasser Al-Sahli, Yahya Al-Sulaimi, Abdullah Hafa, Abdullah Al-Jafari and Hussain Zalaa. The students were competing with their counterparts from France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic.

Habibi said Abdul Haq had also won the best performance award in playing a musical instrument.

The Jazan University students won a total of 14 awards in theater and drama at the regional and international levels, including in Europe, he said.

In similar development, two students from Saudi Arabian universities won top awards recently at the Third Gulf Theater Festival for universities in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Zafer Al-Shahry, a student from the Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University won the award for best stage play script, and Ahmed Al-Saman from King Abdulaziz University won the award for best scenography.

The Saudi student community in the Kingdom is exhibiting excellence not only in academic and technical skills but also in arts and theater at both the regional and international levels.

It is interesting to note that most of the art and drama students are hailing from the rural areas of the country where they are pursuing their studies at various branch universities of the Kingdom.