About Us
TAQA Productions Company -Kuwait- produces independent cultural initiatives and projects in the performing and visual arts domain.
Founders – Hooda Shawa
Hooda Shawa is a Kuwaiti/Palestinian writer living in Kuwait.She is the recipient of the Sheikh Zayed book Award for children’s Literature in 2008 and Kuwait’s National Council for Arts and Letters Award for childrens’ literature in 2017.
Her books include: The Birds’ Journey to Mount Qaf, The Animals’ vs the Humans at the Court of the King of the Jinn, The Yellow Man, The Secret Revealer, The Elephant’s Journey, Apollo on Gaza Beach, and The Dragon of Bethlehem. Hooda has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies as well as a Certificate of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (CTEFLA).
Productions
- – My Pink Room , Short Film written by Hooda Shawa and directed by Vachan Sharma –
- – The Secret Revealer , Documentary
- – Akhnaton, Arabic Operetta written by Hooda Shawa. Composed by Dr. Sami Ibrahim. Directed by Yousef AlHashash, Creative director Alison Shan Price.
- – Freya Letters from Kuwait – 2016 – This monodrama has been chosen to participate in Kuwait’s International Monodrama Festival. Written by Hooda Shawa. Directed by Abdulaziz Al Haddad, acted by Alison Shan Price.
- – The Gift – 2017 – A performance based on a true historical story; it uses Shadow puppet theatre and storytelling. Written by Hooda Shawa. Directed by Mahmoud Hourani. Visuals and Puppet Making by Steve Tiplady and Sally Brown. Produced by: Arab Puppet Theater and TAQA Productions.
- – The Yellow Man, Monodrama written by Hooda Shawa, and acted by Hamad Al Qneaie
- – Ikara – 2017 – Written by Hooda Shawa. Directed by Yousef AlHashash and Alison Shan Price. Music by Faraj Suleiman. Choreography Kazimir Kolesnik. Produced by TAQA Productions. Acting: Abdulaziz Al Haddad, Diana Sfeir, Ali Al Naser, Moosa Bahman
- – Freya: Chasing the Horizon – 2017 – This monodrama has been part of Dar Al Athar Al-Islamiyya’s cultural program for 2017 in Kuwait, directed by Diana Sfeir
- – Elephant in the City – 2018 – TAQA Productions and Wamda Group presented the Puppets Shadow show, “Elephant in the City”, Story written by: Hooda Shawa. Directed by: Dr. Nabil Bahgat. Actors: Ali Abu Zaid Suleiman and Mustafa AlSabagh. Art work: Dr. Ibrahim Salam. Music: Alfred Jameel. Songs: Adnan Baleas.
- – Julnar and the Firebird – 2019 – TAQA Productions presented the Puppets show, “Julnar and the Firebird”. Story written by: Hooda Shawa and Dr. Nabil Bahgat. Directed by: Diana Sfeir. Puppets making: Nourhan Trafawi. Artwork: Dr. Ibrahim Salam and Yasser Balat. Music: Dr. Alfred Jameel. Songs: Sara Rashad and Adnan Baleas. Actors: Ali Abu Zaid, Mustafa Al Sabagh, Farah Al Hajali, Valen Fakhry, Bader Dashti, Abdullah Al Huwaidi, Mustafa Khairallah, Omar Sarawi. Produced by TAQA Productions.
- – Duma Fe Darna Series – 2020 – TAQA Productions presented the Puppets series “Duma Fe Darna” within the virtual book fair’s activities sponsored by Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences. Story written by: Hooda Shawa. Directed by: Ahmad Talal. Videography: Fuse Media Production. Produced by TAQA Productions.