On 7 and 8 December, The Game Theatre Company offered two performances of its recent production A Key to Fame at the Hanager Theatre, dedicated to the late critic Nehad Selaiha and the late artist Fayza Abdelgawad. It was a weekend of fun and criticism in a world ruled by fame. Written and directed by Doaa Hamza, the performance is set in the dressing room of a film studio. Two extras are locked in by mistake while a long scene is being shot just a few meters outside of the room. Surrounded by a wardrobe that triggers the archival memory of old Egyptian movies, Moftah and Shohra — names that translate as Key and Fame — use the time to tell the story of their lives and their broken dreams. Moftah is a proud actor at the Cultural Palaces and a member of the Actors' Syndicate, and he refuses to be called an extra, while Shohra she is not embarrassed by the term. At certain moments we can easily see how the hierarchy of power is reflected in this relation. Although they never stop complaining of this very same hierarchy, they continue reproducing it on a smaller scale. It is very interesting to explore this never—ending hierarchy that positions women and the poor at its most inferior level. Nevertheless, Shohra does not give up, she revolts against her fellow captive and showcases her struggle for survival and for recognition. During her powerful monologues, Shohra — played by Doaa Hamza — describes the oppression suffered by thousands of Egyptian extras who are denied some of their rights, among them the very basic right of being acknowledged as acting professionals. The rules of fame keep them constantly in the dark and deprive them of human dignity, as if they are a de—humanised, anonymous species. In this sense the community of extras could also function as a model of all social minorities and marginalised professions. Emad Ismail, who plays Moftah, is a very experienced stage actor, he invests the role with a unique sincerity portraying the character as if he identifies with it in reality. Both Emad and Doaa manage to create some strong moments of stage honesty without sacrificing a huge dose of irony and comedy. They maintain a precarious balance between self—pity and laughter. The text, written by Doaa Hamza, serves as a powerful foundation for this balance. It is very well written and shows a special awareness of the dramatic dynamics required to carry out the performance. Clearly Doaa has supported her text with her vision as a director knowing that she is writing directly for the stage, and for herself as an actor and director. Another unique aspect of this production is its panoramic view of famous Egyptian movies, especially the lead roles extras dream of incarnating. The moments of playing those fictional characters as glimpses of movie scenes inside the play can be viewed as a kind of theatrical archiving of those movies and the kind of heroic figure they present. In spite of their comic flavour, those scattered archival moments revive our love of acting, they help us to reconnect to our artistic history and to the surrounding social and cultural stations. Nevertheless the duet does not compromise the performance's message, intended as a kind of criticism of power dynamics within the artistic field, and as a tribute to all those invisible artists who exist in all the artistic disciplines and who never receive the well earned respect and recognition they deserve, just as Moftah and Shohra are forgotten and locked in with the costumes and with their painful dreams and memories. Kudos to the sheer stamina of Doaa and Emad and their fantastic company for offering this amazing theatrical evening. It was refreshing to witness this complete and excellent production that provides full pleasure while conveying a political message at the same time. The stage and costume design by Nashwa Maatouk and the musical compositions by the great artist Hazem Shahien, while perfect for the work, are a blissful experience. I believe this production deserves a full run, and to tour all the governorates of Egypt, it is a model of a simple yet brilliant theatre production that merges entertainment with criticism and has a clear message for society.
