Salah Al-Mulla

Salah Abdullah Al-Mulla is the former Director of the Theatre Affairs Centre at the Ministry of Culture, an actor and an assistant theatre director. He joined Al Sadd Theatre Company when it was founded in 1972, appeared in its 1975 production of ‘The Bachelors’ Club’, and went on to take part in Gulf and Arab festivals and in theatre, television and film, while remaining closely involved in the lives of his wife and four daughters.

He was born in 1957 into a modest, middle-income, traditional Qatari family. Despite the simplicity of their circumstances, he took great pride in his father’s work as a soldier in the army band. He never missed a performance in which his father appeared, travelling from one place to another to support him and enjoy the music.

He has always been an active child who did not miss an opportunity to participate in various sporting activities at school; he had a special interest in handball and basketball.

He completed primary education at Salah Al-Din Al-Ayyubi School, then attended Othman bin Affan School and Qatar Preparatory School. His mother strongly influenced him and became his model of calmness, simplicity and open-heartedness. A childhood friendship also connected him with the artist Ghanem Al-Sulaiti.

He began his career as a technician in seawater desalination. He concentrated on developing his abilities in the field and took part in training courses, particularly when a new station was under construction and a transfer there had been promised after his training. At that stage, he had no professional plans beyond desalination and did not expect life to lead him along a very different path.

Alongside his job, he pursued sport at Al Sadd Club, where a theatre company had been established. Although he was not a member, the performers and director were his friends; he was asked to escort a female neighbour who belonged to the company to and from rehearsals. He insisted on taking her home before rehearsals ended because they often continued late into the evening, which frustrated the other members. They suggested that he join the company so that he could remain with them. As he spent more time watching their rehearsals, his desire to enter the theatre grew steadily.

One day, the company invited him to take part in a production. After initially refusing, he agreed to appear as an extra in “The Bachelors’ Club” in 1975. During rehearsals, he accompanied the group to cafés, where conversations centred on theatre, its history and its importance to society. The specialists around the table included Dr Marzouk Bashir, performers Faleh Fayez and Ghanem Al-Sulaiti, and Sudanese director Kamal Mohisi. He listened carefully and absorbed everything they discussed.

His passion for theatre took hold during this period. He performed with the company at Najma Theatre and experienced the direct relationship between actor and audience. From that point onward, he remained involved in theatrical work.

Although his part in “The Bachelors’ Club” was small, the production became his gateway to the arts. It revealed his talent, changed the direction of his life and drew him more deeply into theatre. His commitment strengthened when he became stage manager at a theatre in the Najma area, where he learned how to maintain and organise a venue and gained an inside view of theatrical administration and production.

While Qatar National Theatre was under construction, Najma Theatre closed and he was sent to Tunisia, Iraq and Italy for training that would prepare him to join the new national institution.

After Qatar National Theatre opened, he joined its auditorium and services department, then managed by an international team. A change in theatre leadership brought him wider authority and appointment as Director of the Auditorium and Services Department, a position he held for many years. When renovation of the theatre was approved in 1998, he chose to step away from the institution. In 2005, the Council of Ministers granted him leave to pursue artistic work, and he remained dedicated to it for an extended period.

His career took another turn in 2016, when he was appointed to lead the Ministry of Culture’s Theatre Affairs Centre. He held the post for six formative years before withdrawing from administrative work, believing that he had given everything he could and had no further contribution to make at that stage.

He is proud of the work completed during his leadership of the Theatre Affairs Centre. With the support of His Excellency Salah bin Ghanem Al-Ali, then Minister of Culture and Sports, and the minister’s advisers, the team established the Puppet Centre and delivered performances in kindergartens and educational institutions.

The Centre discovered young talents who went on to make important contributions to Qatar’s cultural scene through University Theatre, a festival presented in the country for the first time. He also ensured that the theatre season continued because he regarded it as essential. It presented varied productions, while financial support for performances rose to 600,000 Qatari riyals alongside higher standards and conditions.

The Centre welcomed many young people, included them on judging panels, brought in selected participants from abroad at its own expense and launched the Our Youth on Stage project, with a particular focus on emerging talent.

Changing established working practices proved difficult. Many practitioners were accustomed to a routine centred on waiting for invitations to foreign festivals. He disagreed with some theatre professionals and sought instead to build a continuous, close relationship between theatre and its audiences through productions rooted in society, its concerns and broader human questions. Many actors initially resisted that direction, which he continued working to change.

The success of “The Singles’ Club” established Al-Mulla more firmly in Qatari theatre and brought him into direct collaboration with leading performers. After appearing with Salem Al-Majed in “Khamis in Paris”, he was invited by Ghanem Al-Sulaiti in 1988 to join “Zilzal” alongside Saad Al-Faraj and Abdulaziz Jassim. Performances in Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain introduced him to a much wider audience and marked a turning point in his career. His collaboration with Al-Sulaiti continued, while later productions including “Amber” and “11 September” reunited him with the same artists and attracted exceptional public interest.

His relationship with director Abdul Rahman Al-Mannai dates from the 1970s. Al-Mannai placed considerable trust in him and invited him to serve as assistant director, manage stage movement and act. Their productions took him to many countries and to festivals in Kuwait and Tunisia. The experience strengthened his motivation and allowed him to learn from a major artist who encouraged both him and other young people committed to theatre, particularly its intellectual dimension.

He entered television drama in the late 1970s, although his early productions attracted limited attention. His decisive breakthrough came with “Fayez Al-Toush” in 1984 and “Al-Daloub” in 1985. He then worked with the late Abdulaziz Jassim in “When Flowers Sing”, written by Widad Abdul Latif Al Kuwari, directed by Ahmed Al-Muqla and starring Hayat Al-Fahd, Huda Al-Khatib and other prominent performers. The production introduced him to a wider Gulf audience. Hayat Al-Fahd later selected him for “Al-Fariyah”, accelerating his rise to prominence. Further roles followed, often two or three a year outside Doha, alongside continuing collaborations with Al-Fahd and directors including Mohammed Daham Al-Shammari, Ali Al-Ali, Saed Al-Hawari, Munir Al-Zoubi and Ghafil Fadel.

He appeared in one feature film, the Kuwaiti drama “Ateed”, directed by Ahmed Al-Khalaf and written by Yaarub Bou Rahma. Released in Kuwaiti and Gulf cinemas in November 2016, it entered the Arab Cinema Horizons Competition at the Cairo International Film Festival and represented Kuwait at the third GCC Film Festival in Abu Dhabi. Starring Haifa Adel, with Al-Mulla appearing alongside Khaled Al-Buraiki and Abdul Mohsen Al-Qaffas, the film explores the varied outlooks and communities within Kuwaiti society. He also appeared in the Bahraini short film “Will the Light Come”, directed by Salman Yousef.

Most of his difficulties arose in administration, where he had to balance the needs of different team members. Moving from one role or stage to another also required study and adaptation. Theatre reduced some of his personal privacy because he felt constantly visible to society and under public scrutiny. As his life changed, he learned to consider his actions and decisions carefully and to choose his words in both social and media settings.

The blockade affected him deeply on several levels. It was compounded by the suspension of theatre and television production in Qatar, which prevented him from pursuing his artistic ambitions.