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Algiers book fair marks the centenary of Algerian theatre

5 November 2026 · Algeria Now

Algiers book fair marks the centenary of Algerian theatre — Photo : Bernard Gagnon / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

A conference on the centenary of Algerian theatre took place on Wednesday as part of the 29th Algiers International Book Fair, known by its French acronym SILA, which runs until 7 November. The meeting was dedicated to the memory of the late artist Sid Ahmed Agoumi.

The anniversary looks back to 1926, the year Ali Sellali, known as Allalou, staged "Djeha", co-written with the actor Brahim Dahmoune. The play is widely recognized as the first performed in Algerian Arabic in a European-style theatre. Allalou, born in the Casbah of Algiers in 1902 and often called the father of Algerian theatre, retired from the stage in 1933 and died in 1992.

The choice of language mattered. Under French colonial rule, which denied Algerians political rights and marginalized Arabic and Amazigh in public life, the stage offered a rare space where ordinary Algerians heard their own speech, humour and grievances. Many historians view theatre of this period as part of the cultural awakening that fed the national movement and, ultimately, the war of independence that began on 1 November 1954.

Hosting the debate inside the country's largest book fair is fitting. This year's SILA, with Saudi Arabia as guest of honour, was expected to bring together 1,567 publishers from 51 countries, and its programme links books to memory, performance and ideas. Culture Minister Malika Bendouda also received her Saudi counterpart, Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al Saud, on Tuesday to discuss cultural partnership.

The centenary invites a wider question for Algerian culture: how to preserve the archives, scripts and recordings of a century of stage work, and how to pass the tradition to a new generation of writers and directors.

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