The “Shahid” platform recently launched the Kuwaiti series “The Sweet Companionship”, which succeeded in leading the list of the most watched works in the Gulf region within a few days, despite the presentation of a limited number of its episodes.
The work is an artistic return to the Iraqi star Hoda Hussein after her absence from last season, as she plays the role of “Sidra”, a woman in the seventy years of age, in a role that requires her special preparations and a great acting effort. The championship will be attended by a number of Gulf drama stars, including Vience Aaron, Heba Al -Mutairi, Abdullah Al -Turkmani, Anwar Al -Mansour.
The second episode of the series witnessed the appearance of the artist Maram Al -Balushi as a guest of honor, embodied the character of the singer “Khadija”, and she was performed by the song “Oh Ya Al -Asmar Ya Zain” from the Gulf folklore with a wide interaction on social media platforms.
The series is written by Abdullah Al -Husseini and Abdul Aziz Al -Subaie, directed by Muhammad Dahham.
A plot outside the ordinary
The writers of the series “The Sweet Companionship” were keen to present an unconventional dramatic plot, by highlighting the psychological and social challenges facing women in the aging stage, a corner that is rarely covered by Arab drama that often marginalizes the elderly and limits them to the roles of the marginal of the heroes.
The events take place in a social comic framework, around the Septuagint “Sidra Atj” (Hoda Hussein), who receives the news of the death of one of her old friends. During the condolences, my girlfriend meets her childhood, “Fayyada” (Heba Al -Mutairi) of a Bedouin character, and “Moza” (Venice Haroun), who is interested in fashion and beauty, after a separation that lasted about 50 years. From this meeting, the search for their fourth girlfriend, Khadija Zidan, and the memories of the past.
The work has received a great praise from the audience, especially the fans of “nostalgia”, because of its accurate evocation of childhood and youth stages in the Gulf community, in a tight and realistic narrative style, which was able to attract different age groups, including younger generations.
Drama on theatrical way
It seems that the director Dahham is keen that his sixth experience with the star Hoda Hussein is different and exceptional, by adopting a directing style that carries a clear theatrical imprint. He focused on direct representation, speed of rhythm and strong presence of the characters, which is the option of giving the series a special character and its proximity to the recipient, which contributed to drawing attention from the first moments.
Dahham intentionally moved away from the extra visual effects or decorative elements that may distract attention, preferring to intensify the focus on pure representative performance, within a rapid and exhausted dramatic rhythm, which gave the work vitality and realistic. This approach helped highlight the psychological dimension of the characters, and to accurately transfer their emotional states to the viewer.
He also used innovative photography angles that make the audience closer to the event, as if it were inside the scene, which strengthened the theatrical character of the series and moved away from the manufacture, offering a visual image closer to reality.
On the level of soundtrack, Dahham succeeded in establishing a deliberate balance, by employing accompanying tunes that enhance the sensation of the scene without overwhelming performance. It has emerged in this Syrian international aspect of Layal and Sfa, who presented musical compositions characterized by a delicate sense and harmony with the image of the image, adding a tangible aesthetic dimension to work.
Young talents
Despite the focus of the series “The Sweet Companionship” on aging issues and the presentation of women’s championships from an advanced age group, which are the roles of the stars with a remarkable professionalism, this work did not lose sight of young generations, but rather provided a prominent space for a number of young actors, which gave a dramatic balance and enriched the general context of the story with diversity in experiences and performance.
The parallel dramatic lines in the “sweet companion” provided an important space for a number of young faces, which gave them the opportunity to provide a remarkable representative performance. Although Heba Al -Mutairi comes from a media background, and Venice Aaron is known as one of the most prominent blogs on the Internet, the work has succeeded in re -discovering their artistic energies, within a balanced dramatic approach that is not limited to one age group, but rather reviews a wide range of human experiences and personalities.
Among the young names that emerged, the actress Souad Al -Shatti performed a distinguished performance in the role of “Lulwa”, embodied by the strong and independent young Gulf woman, relying on her academic talent that she honored at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts.
Sarah Al -Anzi also drew attention to her role in the character “Amira”, which combines innocence and cunning, and presented it in a balanced style that showed a clear artistic maturity.
A number of young actors, including Mansour Al -Balushi, Ahmed Al -Rashidi, Maitham Al -Husseini, who added a smart comic dimension to the events, also participated in the work, and contributed to the diversification of the dramatic rhythm of the series.