jordan pulse -

Amman — Jordan is witnessing a growing expansion of cultural and artistic festivals, a development that deserves praise. Yet what raises concern is the clear decline in the presence of Jordan's popular family theater — despite it having been, for decades, one of the key drivers of festival success and audience turnout, delivering meaningful works that tackled social and national issues and helping shape Jordanian and Arab cultural memory.
The exclusion of popular theater — represented by major artists with deep, widely loved bodies of work such as Zaal wa Khadra, Al-Amm Ghafel, Sam'ah, Amal Al-Dabbas, and other theater performers — from national festivals like the Jordan Summer Festival, Aqaba's Amwaj Festival, and other state-supported events raises legitimate questions about how artistic programs are selected and whether they truly honor the principle of cultural diversity that should underpin any national festival. Popular theater is not a marginal art form; it is one of the core pillars of Jordan's theatrical movement, and for decades it served as the face that introduced Jordanian theater to Arab audiences, preserving its presence and its national and social messages.
A successful national festival cannot rest on a single artistic genre. It must integrate theater, music and song, folk troupes, and performing arts, so that it reflects the full breadth of Jordan's cultural landscape, centers the Jordanian narrative, and gives every artistic school a fair chance to be represented — free from exclusion or favoritism toward one artistic direction over another.
With that in mind, this message is directed at the bodies that support these festivals and the official institutions that fund them: they must play an active role in overseeing the cultural policies of these events, rather than simply financing them or handing them off to executing companies. Tender documents and award conditions should include clear, binding criteria for selecting artistic programs — criteria that guarantee diversity, fairness, and representation of all segments of Jordan's artistic movement, so that content selection isn't left to individual judgment or leanings that may fail to reflect the full Jordanian cultural scene.
It is also essential to separate the management of cultural content from the management of execution and logistics. Private companies bring valuable expertise in logistics, event management, and providing technical equipment and services — roles that are important and not in question. But shaping a festival's artistic identity and selecting its shows and programs is a cultural responsibility that should fall under the supervision of specialized artistic bodies, such as the Ministry of Culture, the Jordanian Artists Syndicate, or independent artistic committees made up of experienced professionals — ensuring transparency and fairness, steering clear of arbitrary decisions, and preserving festivals' identity as national platforms representing all artists.
Protecting Jordanian theater is not about defending particular names or specific bodies of work — it is about defending a cultural legacy built over decades by the pioneers of Jordanian theater, and about safeguarding the Jordanian public's right to see every color of national creativity on festival stages. National festivals are not merely entertainment events; they are a cultural project that reflects the identity of the state and highlights its narrative. Jordanian artists and audiences alike have the right to see these festivals run according to clear cultural and professional standards — ones that ensure diversity, protect the standing of Jordanian theater, and preserve its legacy for future generations.