Riad Ismat

Riad Ismat was a Syrian writer, critic and theatre director. He served as Minister of Culture of Syria from 3 October 2010 to 23 June 2012. He studied English literature at the Damascus University and graduated in 1968. He founded the first mime troupe in Syria and taught mime, acting and directing at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus. He directed more than 15 theatrical productions, including interpretations of Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams and Frank Wedekind, as well as producing his own personal vision of The Arabian Nights. He published 35 books, including short stories and several books on Arab and World drama. He also wrote a book on the Nobel Prize laureate Naguib Mahfouz and a book on cinema. As a television script writer, he wrote the scripts for seven television serials and directed his own television trilogy for Syrian TV, The Artist & Love, 1985. He also served as Director General of Syrian State Radio and Television, Vice-Minister of Culture, Ambassador to Pakistan and Qatar. In 2013, he moved to the United States and became a teacher of theatre at Northwestern University. He died from COVID-19 in Evanston, Illinois, on 13 May 2020, at age 72.