Pioneering Moroccan Theater Actor Ahmed Saâri Dies at 75

Morocco has lost one of the great names of its theater: Ahmed Saâri. He died on Sunday, September 22, in Casablanca, his family told MAP.

The deceased had marked Moroccan theater for several decades. Appointed Professor at the Municipal Conservatory of Music, Dance and Dramatic Art in Casablanca in 1965, he put many Moroccans on the right track.

To his credit, several successful theatrical works, including the epic "Nahnou" ("We"), "Al-Ahd I and II" ("The Oath"), "The Message of Forgiveness", "Maqamat Badii Zaman Al Hamadani", "Al Harraz", "The City of Copper" and "The Shoemaker’s Daughter".

Ahmed Saâri also produced many television works, "The Price of the Deceased" and "Mother Taja", and international film productions such as "Arrissala" ("The Message") and "The Angel of the Sea".

According to Messaoud Bouhcine, President of the Moroccan Union of Dramatic Arts Professionals (SMPAD), he was an artist with multiple talents, as he was an actor, a professor at the Municipal Theater Conservatory in Casablanca, and accumulated significant experience in artistic and cultural management by working with national veterans of the theater, including the late Tayeb Seddiki.

Bouhcine also paid tribute to the memory of one of the Moroccan icons of theater, cinema, television and the national artistic scene in general, and Casablanca in particular.

"The deceased was known for his trade union fiber, being one of the founders of the SMPAD, the former National Union of Theater Professionals, and distinguished himself by his volunteering and the continuous support of his colleagues," he added.

Born in 1940 in Casablanca, Ahmed Saâri began his career in 1956 at the age of 16 with the Moroccan theater troupe.