Duraid Lahham

February 9, 1934 — Damascus, Syria

Duraid Muhammad Hassan al-Lahhaam is a Syrian actor-director born in al-Kumayreyya, Damascus in 1934. His talent appeared in 1958 on the university stage at the faculty of Science where he majored in chemistry and later taught it. His artistic career began in the sixties, when the director Sabah Qabbani offered him to participate in Damascene Night (سهرة دمشق). At the same time, he formed an artistic duet with the artist Nihad Qalei until the mid-seventies, he also cooperated with the poet and playwright Muhammad Al-Maghut in several successful works. He created the Syrian character called “Ghawwar al-Tawsheh” who became a household name in Syria and the Arab world. Among his plays, as actor-director, are Cheers, My Homeland (كاسك يا وطن), Ghorba (الغربة) and October Village (ضيعة تشرين). Among his television works are Hammam Al-Hana (حمام الهنا), My Family and I (عائلتي وانا) and The Return of Ghawwaar (عودة غوار). The Borders (الحدود) and The Report (التقرير) are among the films he directed.