"Al-Farraj Sciences": Recording completed, and its stories aired on Channel Two

Mufarrah Al-Shamri

The radio series “Uloom Al-Fareej” has completed recording its 30 episodes, which are currently airing daily at 10 p.m. on Radio Program Two throughout this month. The series offers an experience that brings back the details of the traditional Kuwaiti neighborhood (fareej) to listeners through its stories and everyday situations.

Initially conceived as a women’s series, the project expanded during the writing process into a narrative encompassing the entire neighborhood, with all its characters, relationships, and details. Each episode presents a comedic social format that reflects a stance on daily life and the reality we live in.

Artist Fatima Al-Tabbakh wrote the series, while Waleed Al-Oweis directed it. The cast includes Hussein Al-Mufadi, Mona Shaddad, Hind Al-Balushi, Mansour Al-Mansour, Yousef Al-Amr, Ali Al-Ali, Ishaq Ashkanani, Yousef Al-Abdoulrazzaq, Hanaa Al-Mahdi, Bushaira Al-Mutairi, Wadha Al-Sani, Ilham Al-Humaidi, Mohammed Al-Saffar, and Omar Al-Bakr.

Through “Uloom Al-Fareej,” Al-Tabbakh undertook a different experience as a writer. She told Al-Anbaa newspaper that writing for radio is not easy, as the absence of visuals poses a greater challenge for the writer to make listeners “see” the characters and events through their ears, relying on dialogue, performance, sound effects, and silence.

With the completion of recording, “Uloom Al-Fareej” has taken a new step toward the listener, leaving them with another task: to paint the picture in their imagination and to find in the characters of the “fareej” something of the people they know and live among.