Daily Times

A Yemeni man stabbed three performers during a live play in the Saudi capital Monday, police said, in the first such attack since the ultra-conservative kingdom began easing decades-old restrictions on entertainment.

The assailant was arrested after state television footage showed him stomping onto the stage in Riyadh’s King Abdullah Park during a musical performance by what appeared to be a foreign theater troupe.

“Security forces dealt with a… stabbing attack against two men and a woman from a theater group during a live performance,” a police spokesman was quoted as saying by the official Saudi Press Agency.

Police said the man arrested was a 33-year-old Yemeni expatriate and that the knife used in the attack was seized. The statement added the victims were in stable condition but offered no information about their nationality or the motivation of the assailant.

The kingdom has faced international scrutiny over its human rights record since last year’s murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul.

The King Abdullah Park is one of the venues hosting the two-month “Riyadh Season” entertainment festival, part of a broad government push to open up the austere kingdom to tourists and diversify its economy away from oil.

The country’s de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has introduced stunning reforms including allowing concerts, re-opening cinemas and lifting a ban on women driving as part of a contentious liberalization drive.

In scenes that were unimaginable just two years ago, Saudi Arabia has staged glitzy performances by a host of international artists, from South Korean boy band BTS to pop icon Janet Jackson and rapper 50 Cent.

But Saudi officials warn that introducing such reforms in a society steeped in conservatism is fraught with peril.