Egypt and the Arab world bid farewell to one of the pillars of theater and drama, the esteemed artist Samiha Ayoub, who passed away this morning, Tuesday, at the age of 93. Ayoub’s passing followed an artistic and humanitarian journey spanning more than seventy years. Ayoub was included as a model in the Skills and Activities Book, part of the theater program, which aims to introduce students to the most prominent influential figures in the field of theater, develop students’ culture, and familiarize them with influential figures in various fields, such as science, literature, and the arts.
Ayoub first appeared on stage in the 1940s while studying at the Higher Institute of Drama, which she joined immediately after its founding in 1949 by Egyptian playwright Zaki Toleimat. In addition to acting, Ayoub directed five plays and headed the Egyptian National Theater and the Modern Theater. Critics consider Ayoub to have the longest continuous theatrical career in the Arab region.
Ayoub was born in 1932 in Cairo and began her artistic career at the age of fifteen in the film “The Tramp.” In an interview with Egyptian television, Ayoub described acting as “not a job, but a form of resistance… resistance to ignorance, triviality, and fear.”
In 1977, French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing awarded Ayoub the Knight’s Cross after she performed “Phaedra” by French writer Jean Racine with her troupe at the French Opera House for fifteen consecutive nights.
Ayoub also performed “The Flies” by French writer and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, who attended the performance in Cairo along with Simone de Beauvoir.
In Egypt, Ayoub received the Order of Merit from former President Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1966. She also received the Order of Merit, First Class, from former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad in 1983.
The Egyptian Ministry of Culture mourned Ayoub, noting that “her works will remain beacons illuminating the path of future generations, and her memory will live on in the hearts of her fans.”
