Kevin Spacey skipped the Screen Actors Guild awards, which handed him a win for his wildly popular role on House of Cards, to watch 34 young actors from across the Arab world perform a play as part of his foundation's Home Grown initiative supporting local talent.
The cast, all 25-years-old or younger, hail from war-torn Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Iraq and other corners of the Middle East. For many of them, the play marked the first time they had ever left their home countries or been given support to hone their craft.
The aspiring actors were flown to the emirate of Sharjah in the UAE in an all-expense-paid program with the nonprofit Middle East Theatre Academy, a joint initiative launched in 2011 with the Kevin Spacey Foundation (KSF) and Emirati businessman Badr Jafar, whose family runs a Sharjah-based petroleum and gas conglomerate.
After two weeks of training with professional acting coaches from KSF, the actors performed a play titled Dhow Under the Sun. The play is set in a fictional refugee camp where issues of poverty, corruption, love and hope form the narrative. With a two-night run, it premiered before an intimate gathering Sunday that included the ruler of the emirate of Sharjah, Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed al-Qasimi.
Before the opening night of the play, Spacey spent time coaching the young actors and gave them tips to take with them back home.
