Ruqaya Alkout

‌رقية الكوت‌

Ruqaya Alkout

Born in the early 1950s, Ruqaya Alkout is the first Kuwaiti female director who was famous for directing Seif Al-Arab, a post-liberation play about Saddam Hussain and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. She starts the interview by talking about being born in Sharq and her family’s background. She talks about growing up in Hawali and her love for acting from an early age. She speaks fondly of her parents and their continuous support for her learning and unconventional career. Alkout recalls her school days and attending high school following the Syrian education system. She describes her schools, the learning experience, and her teachers. She then delves into the beginning of her career and working on directing plays in schools as well as focusing on national themes in the 70s and 80s. The last part of the interview is dedicated to the invasion of Kuwait and the daily life during the occupation. After the liberation of Kuwait in 1991, she tells us about coming back after being in the Emirates for the last few months of the invasion. Alkout shares with us the story behind her major production Seif Al-Arab and working with the best actors in the region. At the end of the interview, she tells us about what she has been working on from the 90s onward.