The year will remain a turning point in the global history of theatre and performance. Where many differences had separated the various stages of the world, Covid-19 managed to unite them under the banner of danger. The danger of infection and of (...)
Dancer, dramaturge and Kyoto University of the Arts teacher Nanako Nakajima was one of the earliest artists to make the transition from traditional Japanese to contemporary dance theatre, extending her work outside Japan, notably to Germany. She (...)
Maya Zbib is not only a Lebanese theatre maker of brilliant accomplishment, she is also a world renowned artist. Her company, Zoukak, which she cofounded in Beirut, is its own authoritative brand across the Arab world and the transnational (...)
If anybody earned the title Playwright, it would be Lenin El-Ramly. People like me grew up understanding what Egyptian playwriting means through his plays. I had known about him since childhood, through a friendship between his mother and mine. His (...)
The new production by the award-winning stage director Mohamed Meeky is Harem of Fire (Hareem El-Nar), written by the prominent Shazly Farah and produced by the Taliaa Theatre under artist Shady Soroor. A production that can be perfectly categorised (...)
To witness the Moroccan performance Allach? (For What?) is to finally locate the gem in this year's the Cairo International Festival for Contemporary and Experimental Theatre (CIFCET). Presented at the Floating Theatre, the performance did not have (...)
Another highlight of the Xchanges Festival (16-19 May) at the Kampnagel Theatre in Hamburg, Music for Unstageable Theatre is a performance for one actor-dancer (Mohamed Fouad, who is also the choreographer) with original music by the German artist (...)
I had waited a long time to see this performance and review it. Actually I waited years while the text of Rasha Abdel-Moneim moved from one production venue to the other until it reached the Taliaa Theatre. Originally named Made in Egypt, the text (...)
As March brings along Women's Day and Mother's Day, the Egyptian stage should do its part. But how can we pay tribute to women in a performative culture that has stigmatised women and created clear borders for their representation? One should really (...)
I have never thought I would one day write about Mohamed Abul-Seoud in the past tense. Even as I speak of his past achievements, I cannot say “he was”, only “he is”. Then again, everything he did in the past is present and necessary at the present (...)
The UAE-based Arab Theatre Institute (ATI) held its 11th Arab Theatre Festival (10-16 January) in Cairo. While ATI is based in Sharjah, its activities serve all the Arab countries and extend beyond the borders of the UAE. Launched by Sheikh Sultan (...)
I have never thought I would one day write about Mohamed Abul-Seoud in the past tense. Even as I speak of his past achievements, I cannot say “he was”, only “he is”. Then again, everything he did in the past is present and necessary at the present (...)
The Rihany Theatre has looked gorgeous since it came back to life, resurrecting the history of Emadeddin Street and attracting spectators from all walks of life to the old neighbourhood of entertainment and theatre. It was due to Crime in Maadi, (...)
At the start of 2018, the Egyptian theatre scene was in need of a great leap forward in comparison with 2016 and 2017. At the end of the year, we can comfortably say the state theatre venues managed to achieve full houses and significantly raise (...)
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 (...)
The theme of the 14th International Centre for Performance Studies Festival (23-26 November) was Migrant Forms of Theatre. The internationally renowned theatre scholar Khaled Amin created a unique festival design this year, combining an (...)
In a far place called the Lands of Happiness, everybody is suffering. Poverty is devouring innocent souls while resignation holds their tongues. In the Lands of Happiness no happiness is left at all, only misery and decadence.
Walid Youssef sets his (...)
For two very intense days on 23-24 October, Arab scholars and theatre practitioners gathered to share their reflections on the topic of the feminine Arab stage, contributing to a truly vital exchange that involved students and researchers of the (...)
For two very intense days on 23-24 October, Arab scholars and theatre practitioners gathered to share their reflections on the topic of the feminine Arab stage, contributing to a truly vital exchange that involved students and researchers of the (...)
In contrast to mainstream Arabic productions, the Iraqi play A Smell of War did not solely rely on verbal language. The Iraqi National Troupe for Acting opted for the more difficult path: to create the atmosphere and environment of war, to render (...)
In contrast to mainstream Arabic productions, the Iraqi play A Smell of War did not solely rely on verbal language. The Iraqi National Troupe for Acting opted for the more difficult path: to create the atmosphere and environment of war, to render (...)
As a frequent traveller, I was happy to have Hadra Hurra frame my trip from Bahrain's Al-Sawari Festival to Egypt's Cairo International Festival for Contemporary and Experimental Theatre. It gracefully placed me on a journey to re-explore the idea (...)
Bahrain's Al-Sawari International Theatre Festival concluded its performances with I Will Die in Exile by the Palestinian theatre maker and storyteller Ghannam Ghannam. The performance is a striking revival of the Arabic storytelling tradition in (...)
The Al-Sawari Theatre company, an independent platform, was created in 1984 by Abdallah Al-Saadawi, who had just returned from the United Arab Emirates, where he had also worked in theatre, to launch his artistic career as a theatre director in (...)
Another piece in the 11th National Theatre Festival was the Comic Theatre production The Comedy of the Miserables, written and directed by Marwa Radwan and presented on the Miami Theatre stage. As is clear from the title, it seems to be linked with (...)