Badie' Khayri was a multi-talented artist; a playwright, writer of popular verse (Zagal), scenarist and an expert administrator. However, Khayri's problem was that he lived at a time when Naguib El-Rihine, the highly reputed comedian, was the centre of attraction in theatre. According to the rules of this profession, the actor comes first in order of fame, Khayri’s fame was overshadowed by El-Rihani.

Early Career

Khayri was born on August 18, 1853, to a Turkish father and Egyptian mother. He used to save out of the cost of his food, clothing and pocket money to buy books, particularly of poetry, classical and popular verse (zagal). Since he was a child, he has been inclined to the popular way of life. He used to spend all his spare time at the popular cafes in Gammalia and Baghala districts of Cairo, where he narrated and chanted popular verse. He was greatly influenced by the types of people, hanging around in large numbers at these places. It was at these cafes that he received his early lessons as a playwright and even got to learn and memorize various Egyptian and Arabic accents.

Khayri started writing popular verse at an early age and his writings were published in Al Afkar, Al Watan and Al Alam newspapers. Sometimes, he worked as a translator with Egypt Telephone, an English company. Fired from this job, he worked as a teacher. His talent manifested itself most in writing patriotic songs, anthems and comic sketches as a contribution to the 1919 Revolution. He joined a clandestine society which staged armed resistance against British occupation troops.

Khayri indulged in writing popular verse, although at his time, poetry was in high esteem and popular verse (Zagal) was disdained. Gradually, Zagal came to be appreciated when comic sketches were presented in the intervals on the stage. Thanks to Khayri's contributions and innovation, Zagal could find a foot-hold as a recognized art.

Khayri as a Playwright

Khayri tried to be an actor, but he failed. He then shifted to drama writing. This turn had the effect of enriching Egyptian theatre, considering his valuable contribution to this connection. A major landmark in the artistic history of Badie Khayri is his essential role in discovering the talent of Sayyed Darweesh, the people's artist. When he saw Darweesh's "Fayrouz Shah", he was highly impressed by the musical drama and Darweesh's talent. He expressed his admiration to Naguib El-Rihani who became an enthusiast for Darweesh. Three presented a collection of rich artistic works

Badie' Khayri wrote a number of patriotic lyrics of which is the one saying:

Oh Egyptian now rise,

Egypt is always calling,

Bring me victory, victory is a debt you owe to me

Badie'Khayri's theatre was initially based on adapting and Egyptianizing French light comedies "Vaudeville", and later developed into a type of lyrical show theatre (musical comedy). In these comedies, Khayri made use of El-Rihan’s talented performance of the stereotypical character of "KishKish Bey". As the art of the comedy flourished, this theatre evolved into farce and satirical light comedy which criticized the ills of the society.

Khayri and El-Rihani were so daring as to present plays which satirized depotism during the darkest days of the Monarchy, such as "The Rule of Qaraqosh", already rejected by the censor. They also addressed the question of religious discrimination and advocated tolerance and elimination of religious fanaticism in their play "Hassan, Morcos and Cohen". This play was rejected by both Al Azhar, the Coptic Church and the Jewish Rabbi, on account of the satirical use of sacred religious names in the play.

Khayri's drama activity was not confined to El-Rihani's troupe. He also wrote dozens of plays for Okasha, Ali El-Kassar, Munira El-Mahdyia, Badi'a Masabni and other drama troupes during the period between the two world wars. He also wrote scripts and scenarios for more than 70 films as well as dozens of lyrics for Sayyed Darweesh.

After El-Rihani's death, Badie' Khayri continued to keep his troupe operating. He was severely shocked by the death of his son Adel Khayri,who came to perform El-Rihani's role, after his death. Khayri had been trying to make him a continuation of El-Rihani. In spite of the shock, Khayri managed to overcome his own agony and continued to write plays and run El- Rihani's theatre. During this period, Khayri wrote 35 plays.

After a long illness, Khayri died in February 1966.