Sharjah 24: Bes¬ides books and au¬thors, a colourful and entertaining combination of dance, music and interactive theatre await visitors at the Shar¬jah In¬ter¬na¬tional Book Fair (SIBF 2021) which will run from November 3-13 at the Expo Centre Sharjah.

SIBF’s 40th edition will broaden its cultural offerings with two plays, three stage shows, and eight roaming performances, workshops, and more. The exciting Rabbits Play, will capture young imaginations through elaborate set pieces and fascinating twists and turns portrays the power struggle between a group of dreamers and enemies of success who want to spell doom for them. 

Among the plays is Ghalib in New Delhi, the long-running humorous play that recounts the adventures of the famous poet Mirza Ghalib after he is reborn in 21st century India, will be staged by Bazm-e-Urdu at SIBF.

Stage shows, roaming performances and more
Gisle Martens Meyer will stage an exceptional audiovisual spectacle, Live Books Symphony, on the SIBF 2021 stage, where book will articulate their thoughts through music and dance.

The spectacular Interactive Illusion show, performed by the troupe Icelone, will blend imagination, illusion, reality and technology to breathe new life into book themes through graphics and animations. The Crazy Science School stage show by Comme il Faut Production will inject fun and excitement into science as the show’s protagonists performer explosive, bright and funny experiments that will teach children up to 10 years old a thing or two about the subject.  

SIBF 2021 will also showcase eight international troupes presenting vibrant roaming parades depicting a variety of themes and narratives along the halls and lobbies. Among them, Green Tree will feature curious plants that mingle with the audience, creating an illusion of being among nature. The Barattoli troupe’s Street Music with Mechanical Puppets is an unconventional theatrical piece which features songs that narrate stories from various continents.

Themed ‘There’s always a right book,’ the forthcoming 40th edition of SIBF will see the participation of 1,576 publishing houses from 83 countries. More than 15 million books will be on display throughout the 11-day celebration of literature, knowledge and culture.