Bahrain’s $50m national theatre on track

Construction of Bahrain's first national theatre, a waterfront facility worth BD19.1 million ($50.65 million), has been ongoing for nine months and is expected to be completed in November. Spanning 11,869 metres, it will be able to accommodate more than 1,000 people and is hoped will help lure some of the world's top performers to Bahrain. As well as putting on opera, drama, modern and classical dance, and symphonic concerts, it will house a flexible theatre for contemporary dance and drama, cinema, lectures, workshops and rehearsals, said theatre director Andrea Porcheddu. 'The national theatre is a conventional arch theatre which can present opera, drama, modern and classical dance, and symphonic concerts,' he added. “We're planning a theatrical season where the best shows from all over the world can be hosted.” 'We'd like this theatre to act as a crossroad between cultures. Operas such as La Traviata by Verdi or Le Nozze di Figaro by Mozart or Boheme by Puccini will be put together with classical concerts from Egypt, India or Bali. 'In this context, great attention will be given to Arab and Islamic culture, especially from Bahrain. We'd like to invite artists like Fadel Jaibi, Wajdi Mohawad, Roysten Abel, Bob Wilson, Eugenio Barba, Kudsi Ergune, Victoria Chaplin and many others to work closely with artists from Bahrain and the Gulf.' The theatre will consist of three levels, and has been designed by an architectural firm As-Architecture Studio in Paris and is being directed by Roueida Ayache and Rene-Henri Arnaud. The project was commissioned by the Culture Ministry as part of celebrations marking Manama being named Arab Capital of Culture 2012 and is located north of the Bahrain National Museum lake.