Tayeb Saddiki (; 5 January 1939 – 5 February 2016) was a Moroccan theatre director and one of the most iconic and prominent Arab artists, and is considered among the foremost Arab dramatists of the twentieth century. Trained in classical Western theater, Saddiki also embraced traditional Moroccan theatrical styles, fusing the two into a path-breaking combination of Western and traditional Moroccan theater. Known for staging spectacles played to large crowds in big arenas, Saddiki developed a style of festive theater that became a popular in the Arab world. He is a pioneer of Arab theater and an actor and a film director, but also an award-winning author writing in both Arabic and French. From a family of scholars, he was born in Essaouira and grew up in Casablanca. After training courses with André Voisin, at the age of 17 he went abroad to France to study theater at Comédie de l'Ouest - CDO, directed by Hubert Gignoux. Back in Morocco, together with the Union Marocaine du Travail (UMT) he founded a Workers' theater / Al Masrah Al Oummali (1957). After that, he returned to France to further study theater tecnics at the TNP -the National Popular Theater in Paris-, under the direction of Jean Vilar. At 23, he became artistic director of the Mohamed V theater (théâtre national Mohammed-V). After that he worked as director of the municipal theater of Casablanca (théâtre municipal de Casablanca) from 1964 to 1977. He founded several theatre companies, Firqat Saddiki / Saddiki's troupe, Al Masrah Al Jawal / Traveling theater, Masrah Ennas / People's Theater and also his own cultural center at Casablanca, Espace Tayeb Saddiki (Tayeb Saddiki's center) at the boulevard Gandhi in Casablanca. (Source : Tayeb Saddiki Foundation) Biography 1953 - Stage of Dramatic Art at Maâmora (Morocco), Interpretation Award / Direction André Voisin and Charles Nugue 1954 - First contract with Moroccan theater troupe / la troupe du théâtre marocain, the first professional troupe in Morocco 1956 - Workshop at Centre Dramatique de l’Ouest – C.D.O, Rennes - Direction Hubert Gignoux 1957 - Works at the National Popular Theater (Théâtre National Populaire) - T.N.P in Paris, Direction Jean Vilar 1957-1958 - Founder of the Workers' theater (Al Masrah Al Oummali), Morocco 1959 - Training course at the Center Dramatique de l'Est - D.E, Direction Hubert Gignoux 1960 - Study Tour Berliner Ensemble - Germany, Direction Hélène Weigel - Bertolt Brecht's theatre