Iftah Ya Simsim
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Iftah Ya Simsim was the Kuwaiti coproduction of Sesame Street. The series debuted in the fall of 1979, and and was the first Sesame co-production in Arabic. There were 130 half-hour episodes produced and broadcast on a weekday basis in various Arabic countries.
The show featured Nu'man, the full-body camel, Malsun, the green parrot, and Yaqut, the female lavender monster with colorful bumps on her head and a long nose and a full-body Cat named Abla.
The show's title means "Open Sesame," but the neighborhood itself is called Shari’ 'lshrin (translated as "Twentieth Street"). Key locations include the juice stand Khalil's Refreshments, located at No. 8, and Hisham's Shop, at No. 4, which sells newspapers. The large house on No. 3 is the home of Hamad the engineer and his wife, Fatima the teacher. Their next-door neighbor is Laila the nurse, and beyond is a small park. The park contains a playground, fountain, and garden, and attracts the local children. The grandfatherly peddler Abdullah plies his trade there, selling toys, books, and games from his pushcart and regaling the kids with stories.
The Arab states of the Persian Gulf Joint Program Production Institution bought the co-production rights for a nine-year period. in 1977. The Children's Television Workshop provided technical assistance, research, and provided a consulting producer. As with other co-productions, CTW also supplied Muppet sketches, cartoons, and film inserts, which were then selected and dubbed into Arabic. The studio "street" scenes were taped between May and December 1978. Although produced in Kawait, much like the original version of Plaza Sésamo, the series was intended for the entire Arab-speaking world, and the cast included a mixture of Kuwaitis, Saudi Arabians, Iraquis, and children from twelve different Arab countries, including Algeria.
Cast
Puppeteers:
- Abdullah Hubail as Nu'man
- Tawfiq al-Asha as Malsun
Human Cast
- Abdul Majid Quasim as Khalil
- Ahmad al-Salah as Abdullah
- Jasim Nabban as Hamad
- Ahlam Salah as Fatima
- Sana Younus as Laila
- Ka'id al-Na'Mani as Hisham
Crew
- Executive Producer: Ibrahim al-Yusuf
- Chief Producer: Faisal al-Yasiri
- Chief Writer: Yasir al-Malih
- Associate Research Directors: Dr. Abdullah al-Dannan (linguistics), Dr. Said Abdul Rahman (psychological and educational affairs)
