National Theatre of Somalia: Mogadishu's stage since 1967

A gift from China

The theatre was built by Chinese engineers as a gift from Mao Zedong and opened in 1967 in central Mogadishu (National Theatre of Somalia, Wikipedia). After Siad Barre took power in 1969 it became a central institution of the state's cultural programme. Wikipedia notes that Barre said he wanted to overcome clan divisions, and that artists from all clans worked at the theatre and shaped its style.

The bands

In Somali theatre, music and drama are closely linked, so theatre companies are called "bands". The National Theatre had no single company. Several bands worked there, each belonging to a state body (Wikipedia):

• Waaberi, formed from the band of Radio Mogadishu and the army's General Da'ud band. Its artists included Ali Feiruz, Abdullahi Qarshe, Magool, Maryam Mursal, Hassan Sheikh Mumin and Abdi Ali "Bacalwaan".
• Horseed, which existed before independence as Ex-bana Estro.
• Halgan, Onkod and Shareero.
• Iftin, the Ministry of Education's band, which also trained school teachers in music.

Waaberi performed at FESTAC '77 in Lagos (Music In Africa).

War and ruin

When the civil war broke out in 1991, the theatre was among the first buildings destroyed. Wikipedia records a show in the ruined building in the first months of the war called "You Destroyed the Roof, So Don't Look Up". Later the ruins were used to store weapons (Wikipedia).

Reopening and the April 2012 bombing

In late 2011 Jabril Ibrahim Abdulle, director of the Centre for Research and Dialogue, brought former artists together to revive the theatre. After basic repairs it reopened on 19 March 2012 before about 1,000 people, with a play written by former band members, Dardaarwin Walid ("Parents' advice") (Wikipedia; The Telegraph, March 2012; VOA).

On 4 April 2012, during a ceremony marking the first anniversary of Somali National Television's relaunch, a woman suicide bomber attacked the theatre. The BBC, citing police and hospital sources, reported eight dead, including Aden Yabarow Wiish, president of the Somali Olympic Committee, and Said Mohamed Nur, head of the Somali Football Federation. Wikipedia gives ten dead. Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali was unhurt, and al-Shabaab said it carried out the attack (BBC News, 4 April 2012; Wikipedia).

Rebuilding

By 2013 the director, Abdiduh Yusuf Hassan, had started a talent show, Hirgeli Hamigaaga Faneed ("Awaken your inner artist"), and supported the opening of a "National Theatre of Somalia in Exile" in Vienna. In September 2013 the Somali and Chinese governments signed a cooperation agreement under which China would rebuild the theatre and other Mogadishu landmarks (Wikipedia; AllAfrica, September 2013; Hiiraan Online, July 2013).

Read more

• Somali music
• Radio Mogadishu
• Magool
• Abdullahi Qarshe
• Somali bands