# Walid Kowatli

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**Walid Kowatli** aka **Walid Al-Kowatli** or **Walid Al-Quwatli** ([Arabic](/source/Arabic_language): وليد القوتلي‎) is a Syrian [theatre director](/source/Theatre_director) and playwright, known for directing the Lak' bin Lak' written by [Emile Habibi](/source/Emile_Habibi) and Waiting for Barbarians an [adaptation](/source/Film_adaptation) of [Waiting for the Barbarians](/source/Waiting_for_the_Barbarians_(poem)) poem by [Constantine P. Cavafy](/source/Constantine_P._Cavafy).

## Early life and education

Kowatli was born and grew up in [Damascus](/source/Damascus), Syria. He obtained his degree in Theater Direction from the [Institute of Art Studies](/source/Bulgarian_Academy_of_Sciences#Humanities_(Division_'Cultural-Historical_Heritage_and_National_Identity')) (Krystov Sarafov, formerly) in [Sofia, Bulgaria](/source/Sofia), class of 1973.[1]

## Career

Kowatli headed the Acting Department at the [Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus](/source/Higher_Institute_of_Dramatic_Arts_(Damascus)) from 1991 to 1992,[2] before heading the acting department he joined the institute as a teacher in 1979 to teach the art of acting, the basics of directing and the theater laboratory.[3][1]

From 1976 to 1999, he was appointed as director at the Department of TV drama in the [Syrian Arab TV](/source/Television_in_Syria), where he directed skits and plays the TV a number of them were directed to children and young.[4]

In March 2012, he headed the jury for theater days for the Colleges of Applied Sciences in [Oman](/source/Oman), and in the sixth Kalba Festival plays short in the UAE in 2017.[5] In the same year, he received the Golden Shield commemorating the Syrian meeting in Dubai.

During the period from 2013 to 2017, he worked on a number of documents addressing Syrian children lost during wartime.[6][7] His work was presented on stages such as the Syrian National Theater and Al-Kabbani Theater in [Damascus](/source/Damascus) and the [Sorbonne](/source/Sorbonne_(building)) Theater in [Paris](/source/Paris).[8]

Kowatli directed nearly 30 predominantly experimental and poetic plays during his tenure in the theater career, and has worked with the rising generation artists in amateur bands such as [Waha Al-Raheb](/source/Waha_Al-Raheb).[9][10][11]

In 2025, his name was included in the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Theatre Directors. [12]

## Work

### Theatre

Plays in Syria Number Stage name Author General presentation Place of presentation 1 Topaze Marcel Bagnol 1974 1974 Al-Shabiba Theater Al Qabbani Theater - Damascus 2 The Zoo Story[13] Edward Albi 1978 Al Qabbani Theater - Damascus 3 Lak' bin Lak' Emile Habibi 1981 Workers Theatre - Damascus 4 The Frogs Aristophan 1981 Al Qabbani Theater - Damascus 5 The Story of Vasco Georges Schehadé 1982 National Theater - Damascus / graduation project 6 January Yordan Radychkov 1983 National Theater - Damascus 7 Peace Adaptation by Walid Kowatli 1985 Al Qabbani Theater - Damascus 8 The King Will Die Eugène Ionesco 1990 Workers Theatre - Damascus / graduation project 9 The Fox and the Grapes Guilherme Figueiredo 1991 Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus - Damascus 10 Inspired by the Improvised Comedy Walid Kowatli 1991 Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus - Damascus 11 The Lesson Eugène Ionesco 1992 French Cultural Center 12 Kaspar Peter Handke 1992 National Theater - Damascus / graduation project 13 The Origin of The Story Bakr al-Sharqawi 1992 National Theater - Damascus / graduation project 14 Crazy Days Nikolai Gogol 1994 Al Qabbani Theater - Damascus 15 No Comment Walid Kowatli 1996 Al Qabbani Theater - Damascus 16 Stories of the Body Walid Kowatli 1997 Workers Theater - Damascus 17 Eye of the Moon Walid Kowatli 2004 National Theater - Damascus 18 Waiting (playing with Beckett) Walid Kowatli 2006 National Theater - Damascus 19 Flight Attempt Quote Walid Kowatli 2008 Damascus Opera House - Damascus 20 Waiting for Barbarians Adaptation by Walid Kowatli 2010 Opera House - Damascus Plays outside Syria Number Stage name Author General presentation Place of presentation 1 Lak' bin Lak' Emile Habibi 1981 Tunisia: Carthage theater 2 Crazy Days Nikolai Gogol 1995 Arab World Institute - Paris 3 Very Happy Woman Days Walid Kowatli 1995 Stuttgart - Germany Theater "Camel Sand" - Paris 4 As You Like Walid Kowatli 1999 Theater of the Sorbonne - Paris Mediterranean Festival: Monfalcon - Italy 5 As You See Walid Kowatli 2000 The Opposite Bank Festival: The wooden Sword Theater - Paris[14] 6 Curtains and Colors Walid Kowatli 2003 Sharjah Sixth Interchange: Beit Al Shamsi - Sharjah 7 Violence Walid Kowatli 2003 A theater workshop for the Department of Culture and Information - Sharjah 8 Waiting (playing with Beckett) Quote by Walid Kowatli 2006 2008 Amman Theater Festival - Jordan Okinawa Theater Festival - Japan 9 Waiting for Barbarians Walid Kowatli 2010 Cairo International Festival of Experimental Theater 10 The Seven Days of Time Nouri al-Jarrah 2012 Doha - Qatar 11 We and the World Walid Kowatli 2016 2017 Gaziantep - Turkey Istanbul - Turkey[15]

### Television and documentaries

- *2013: The Children of Syria Ascend to Heaven*
- *2014: Bird of Fire*
- *2015: Baptized with Fire*
- *2016: Maram: The Assassination of a Dream*

### Translations

- *The Fox and the Grapes — play by [Guilherme Figueiredo](/source/Guilherme_Figueiredo)* (translated from English)
- *Crazy Days — play by [Nikolai Gogol](/source/Nikolai_Gogol) (*translated from Bulgarian)
- *January — play by [Yordan Radychkov](/source/Yordan_Radichkov)* (translated from Bulgarian)
- *The Art of Theater — book by [Boris Zakhava](/source/Boris_Zakhava)* (translated from Bulgarian)
- *With Water — poet by [Salah Stétié](/source/Salah_St%C3%A9ti%C3%A9)* (translated from French)

## References

1. ["قراءة تحليلية للعرض المسرحي من وليد قوتلي في منتدى الاثنين - فكر وفن - ثقافة - البيان"](https://www.albayan.ae/five-senses/culture/2012-06-20-1.1672819) (in Arabic). *www.albayan.ae*. Retrieved 2021-04-21.

1. Jawhara, bushra. ["من أوراق المسرح"](http://thawra.sy/index.php/saad_elkasem/254822-2020-11-30-14-39-53) (in ar-aa). *thawra.sy*. Retrieved 2021-04-21.

1. ["Suriye Gerçekliği Fiziksel Tiyatro Performansı ile Sahnede"](https://www.dirensanat.com/2017/05/16/suriye-performans-fiziksel-tiyatro/) (in tr-TR). *Diren Sanat - Tiyatro, Sinema, Sahne Sanatları*. 16 May 2017.

1. ["عالم المسرح"](https://www.startimes.com/?t=25025447). *www.startimes.com*. Retrieved 2021-04-19.

1. البيان, الشارقة-. ["10 عروض في مهرجان كلباء للمسرحيات القصيرة - فكر وفن - ثقافة - البيان"](https://www.albayan.ae/five-senses/culture/2017-09-21-1.3050847) (in Arabic). *www.albayan.ae*. Retrieved 2021-04-21.

1. Wessels, Joshka (2019). *Documenting Syria : film-making, video activism and revolution*. London. ISBN 978-1-78831-173-1. [OCLC 1055680708](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1055680708)

1. [""نحن والعالم" جسد يتكسّر ولغة تنتهك.. وليد قوتلي ومسرح الحضور"](https://www.sy-24.com/articles/%D9%86%D8%AD%D9%86-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85-%D8%AC%D8%B3%D8%AF-%D9%8A%D8%AA%D9%83%D8%B3%D9%91%D8%B1-%D9%88%D9%84%D8%BA%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D9%86%D8%AA%D9%87%D9%83-%D9%88%D9%84%D9%8A/) (in Arabic). sy-24.com. 24 May 2018.

1. ["Gianluca Pinto curriculum"](http://www.gianlucapinto.it/curriculum.htm). *www.gianlucapinto.it*

1. ["المسرح.. بوابة واحة الراهب إلى الفن - فكر وفن - البيان"](https://www.albayan.ae/five-senses/2009-04-27-1.428320) (in Arabic). *www.albayan.ae*. Retrieved 2021-04-21.

1. التقي, دمشق-خليل. ["الممثلة - المخرجة السورية "واحة الراهب" في حوار مع "الوسط""](http://www.alwasatnews.com/news/793002.html) (in Arabic). *صحيفة الوسط البحرينية*. Retrieved 2021-04-21.

1. ["مثقفون سوريون يؤسسون رابطة سورية للثقافة"](https://www.alarabiya.net/arab-and-world/syria/2014/06/01/مثقفون-سوريون-يأسسون-رابطة-سورية-للثقافة-) (in Arabic). *العربية*. 2014-06-01. Retrieved 2021-04-21.

1. Delgado, Maria M. & Williams, Simon (eds.) (2025). [*The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Stage Directors*](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-encyclopedia-of-stage-directors/2F41CE5E5A61CB345F542AD9F26B3497). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-19059-7.

1. ["Why Egypt embraces Edward Albee | Tanjil Rashid"](http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/apr/14/egypt-edward-albee). *the Guardian*. 2012-04-14. Retrieved 2021-04-20.

1. ["LUMIÈRES DE L'AUTRE RIVE - Cartoucherie - Théâtre de l'Epée de Bois | THEATREonline.com"](https://www.theatreonline.com/Spectacle/Lumieres-de-l-autre-rive/745). *www.theatreonline.com*

1. ["Walid Kowatli'nin yönettiği Cut Academy tiyatro oyunu, izleyicisiyle buluşmaya hazırlanıyor."](https://www.biletix.com/etkinlik/UTR00/ISTANBUL/tr). *www.biletix.com*

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Walid Kowatli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walid_Kowatli) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walid_Kowatli?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.