The 31st Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre. September 1-11, 2024.

The 31st Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre. September 1-11, 2024.

By Najwa Kondakji

In its 31st edition, the Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre (CIFET) presented a rich and diverse array of theatrical activities. Over ten days, from September 1 to 11, 2024, audiences experienced 26 performances from nineteen Arab and non-Arab countries, alongside nine specialized training workshops in acting and playwriting, led by renowned Arab and international artists. The festival also included five days of seminars, with two sessions per day. The first three days focused on “Theatre and the Conflict of Centers,” where research papers explored the dynamic between Western aesthetic models and Arab theatrical experimentation. Other discussion forums celebrated the influential contributions of selected Arab theater practitioners, recognizing their great influence within and beyond their communities in the “Gratitude Symposium.” Consistent with previous iterations, the festival also published an important collection of books on theatrical arts, authored by Arab scholars and featuring translated works by European and American writers.

The CIFET maintains a distinct identity, setting it apart from other theatre festivals in the Arab world. It attracts productions from a wide range of countries, bringing unique perspectives, standards, and experimental approaches to its stages.

This spirit of artistic innovation was equally evident in Arab contributions as well, as demonstrated in the festival’s inaugural performance. On opening night at the Opera House, the Egyptian Modern Dance Theatre Company presented The Wall of Silence’s Echo, directed by acclaimed Lebanese choreographer Walid Awni and produced by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. This evocative performance explores the tragic history of genocide faced by the Palestinian people, tracing events from the Nakba up to October 7, aiming to reexamine collective memory and affirm the significance of these historical events. The performance was marked by the dancers’ exceptional ability to convey powerful imagery through meticulously choreographed movements. Scenes ranged from the resurrection of the dead from their graves to portrayals of battles, celebrations, and attempts to leap over walls in desperate cries against an invisible enemy—a force capable of inflicting harm from any direction, at any time. Classical music by Richard Wagner and Antonio Vivaldi accompanied some scenes. At times, this was broken by modern techno rhythms, along with the voices of Fairuz, Mohammad Abdel Wahab, and Umm Kulthum. With this musical fusion, the performance not only highlighted the contemporary struggles of the Palestinian people but also captured Palestine’s historical and cultural depth. The production evocatively depicted significant moments, including a striking portrayal of the Last Supper, juxtaposed with the figure of Saladin standing before the Dome of the Rock. The production confronts how the mass killing of innocents has been orchestrated beyond these ideological biases.

The Tunisian performance L’ALBATROS, directed by Al-Shadihi Al-Arfawi, explored the harrowing phenomenon of illegal migration through deadly boat journeys departing from the southern shores of the Mediterranean. The script is based on real-life testimonies, capturing the raw and human dimensions of these journeys, and the production follows the stories of three women and two men who set out from Tunisia towards the Italian coast. The characters revisit pivotal events from the Tunisian revolution, recalling the tragic incidents of 2011 and 2012, when countless young people and families perished in pursuit of the migration dream.  The play dramatizes the response from authorities that was marked by apathy and indifference, which subsequently incited public anger and protest among the families affected.

A vast projection of the sea spans the entire background, including actual documentary footage filmed on a mobile phone from inside a migrant boat at sea, accompanied by ambient ocean sounds, creating an immersive setting. These visuals blend seamlessly with the live performance, heightening the audience’s emotional connection to the unfolding tragedy. Despite the narrative-driven structure, the performance is brought to life through an impressive array of talents, with five performers engaging in acting, dance, song, and acrobatics, all executed with remarkable precision and professionalism.

The productions from the Gulf countries reflect a growing theatrical movement, with some standing out for their distinctive approach and form. The Saudi play The Light, by the esteemed writer Fahad Radah Al-Harthy, explores the inner landscape of a lost individual navigating a turbulent reality. It examines the philosophical tension between light—as a metaphor for knowledge, awareness, and self-realization—and darkness, representing confusion, fear, and the vastness of the unknown.  Director and scenographer Ahmed Mohammed Al-Ahmari from Bahrain embraced the principles of ‘poor theatre’, as articulated by Jerzy Grotowski using a single piece—the bed—as a versatile symbol representing the various spaces inhabited by the two characters, mirroring their conflicting and intense emotional states. The actors delivered outstanding performances, demonstrating remarkable skill and depth in their portrayals.

The Omani production Boswellia Tree (Musca) adapted from the novel by Mohammed Al Shahri, was directed by Yousef Al Balushi and produced by the Mazoon Theatre Troupe. The show presents the ancient folk legend of the Boswellia tree (Musca), which, according to the tale, originates from a female genie who, after falling in love with a young Bedouin, is banished by her tribe. During the performance, the scent of burning incense spread, and its smoke filled the space, engaging the audience’s senses and reinforcing the production’s evocation of ancestral memory and cultural tradition. make history feel real and present. Al Balushi’s vision adds experimental depth to the genie’s world, notably through the expressive dance of lead actress Nadia Obaid from Tunisia, who portrays the character’s pain and love in sync with traditional Omani rhythms. The interplay of lighting, costumes, heavy makeup—associated with magic and the unknown—and a palette of warm and cool tones creates an atmosphere rich with mystery, suspense, and excitement, earning prolonged applause from the audience.

The Egyptian play Where No One Sees Me, produced by the Higher Institute of Theatrical Arts and written and directed by Mahmoud Salah Atteya, delves into the absurdity of life, capturing the struggles of young people trapped in cycles that prevent them from realizing their dreams. These individuals chase jobs that consume their lives, reducing them to mere components of a relentless, monstrous machine—the concept of ‘time’ itself. They become like clock hands in a vast, indifferent cosmic watch, moving mechanically within a rigid, absurd system that erodes their identities and renders them faceless, like the second hand of an old clock.

The play opens with an elderly ‘second hand,’ worn down by twenty years of monotonous, circular routine. When he becomes conscious of his exhaustion, he decides to stop, only to be replaced without recognition or memory of his existence. A young, hopeful ‘second hand’ appears, filled with dreams and ambitions, oblivious to the crushed aspirations of his predecessor. The older hand seeks to awaken the younger from his career-induced haze, reminding him of meaningful memories, especially of a woman he loved, who appears symbolically with the rain. A connection forms between the two, bridging past and future, as the woman symbolizes the ideal of a joyful life that remains tantalizingly out of reach. As explained by the director in the festival bulletin, the play aims to inspire young audiences to confront the absurdity of this relentless cycle that entraps them, urging them to choose a more humane, authentic path and to reject the dehumanizing forces of objectification and alienation.[1]The actors delivered a mesmerizing blend of cold detachment and raw intensity, crafting a performance that was both haunting and deeply human. Their vocal rhythm, disciplined and unyielding like the ticking of a clock, reinforced the play’s relentless inevitability. Yet, within this mechanical precision, the undercurrents of tragedy pulsed with searing emotion, ensuring that every moment resonated with an unsettling, almost hypnotic power.

The experimental style of Detained, a Palestinian performance directed and choreographed by Moatasem Abu Hassan, stands out for its impactful approach. Merging theatrical text with dance theatre, the piece delves into the harrowing experiences of a Palestinian woman imprisoned within Israeli detention cells. Unlike traditional prisoner narratives that glorify heroism, this performance presents suffering stripped of heroic grandeur, leading the audience on an intense journey through pain and oppression. The work challenges stereotypical portrayals to create a striking paradox between discourses on the imprisonment of women and their actual lived experiences—an immense tragedy that the performance critiques through the lenses of culture, politics, and media.

Shatha Yassine wrote the script and played the detained woman, while the director himself assumed the role of the jailer. For any Palestinian actor, embodying an Israeli character involves profound inner confrontation and significant psychological strain, as they must confront the terror wielded by the occupation against their own psyche. This stark contrast is deliberate, highlighting the prisoner’s physical vulnerability and resilient spirit juxtaposed against the soldier’s oppressive force. Drawing from her lived experience in Palestine, Yassin confronts the daily struggle of resisting occupation. Through the character’s monologues, the performance captures the isolation of forced solitary confinement, where illusion, hope, and fear intertwine. Repetitive movement intensifies the psychological tension, exposing the crushing weight of reality and the erosion of identity.[2]

In the realm of experimental theatre, two performances stand out for their shared elements and unique approaches. Both are monodramas that deeply engage with text and auditory scenography. The first piece, Wound, was written, directed, and performed by Egyptian Nora Amin who is based in Cairo and Berlin, in collaboration with the German Ringlokschuppen Ruhr Theatre. The second piece, Mute, is a Kuwaiti production performed by Hala Omran, with writing and direction by the Kuwaiti-British artist Suleiman Al-Bassam.

Wound symbolizes a universal wound inflicted by all forms of destruction-- a wound humanity has endured throughout history. It portrays a singular, continuous wound that unites humanity in ongoing tragedy. This ritualistic performance relies heavily on the poetics of expression. Amin composed the music along with the text in English and designed the audio track with Ehab Abdellatif, centering around linguistic sounds associated with “wound” and its derivatives, as well as “healing” in the sense of recovery. This continuous audio track underscores the performance from beginning to end, seeking to return to a primal, ritualistic origin to evoke universal suffering and the collective human pursuit of healing and transcendence. Visually, English poetic text is projected in red color throughout the performance as a testament to those who have endured massacres and destruction. The work revisits the fundamental concepts of spectatorship and embodiment, undertaking a revolutionary exploration that required rigorous research and experimentation to reconstruct theatrical, auditory, and expressive elements rooted in ancient rituals. In her approach as an actress, dancer, and director, Amin seeks to reclaim the primal, ritualistic essence of performance, embodying suffering across ages and cultures.

The performance ended with a deeply interactive moment, as Amin presented a glass bowl of water and invited the audience to dip their fingers into it. She repeatedly posed thought-provoking questions: ‘If I were water, what would your wishes be? What matters to you? What is your name? If I were water, what would you want to heal?’ Moving through the space with deliberate, slow gestures, she infused the act with a ceremonial quality, enhancing the ritualistic aspect of the performance. This symbolic act invited purification, bridging the healing of the soul and the heart, and fostering an intimate connection between the actress and the audience.[3]

The second performance Mute addresses the Beirut Port explosion of August 2020. The director opens with a direct address, sharing his personal reaction to the tragedy and reflecting on its societal and political impact. The production drew on expert consultations with Dr. Russell Ogle, an American chemical engineer specializing in accident investigation and explosion risk assessment, and retired Lebanese Brigadier General Elias Farhat, a military and strategic researcher, to provide technical insights into the explosion. Their recorded interview is played as a voice-over at various points in this performance.

On stage, Hala Omran performs in a fixed position, surrounded by microphones that fall one by one, save for a single mic she holds during the explosion, marking the start of the performance. Restricted to a confined space, Omran’s voice blends with a sound recording that interweaves expert commentary. Chairs on the side of the stage offer seating for audience members invited by the director. In the background, musicians Abed Kobeissi and Ali Hout perform from elevated platforms, lending a distinct auditory layer that has become a hallmark of Al-Bassam’s recent work.

The piece adopts a narrative style that shifts from traditional drama to performing narrative, deconstructing meaning and presenting it through varied mechanisms. The script includes elements of dark satire, critiquing governmental shortcomings and their failure to implement preventative measures, reflecting the struggles experienced by the Lebanese. This approach to deconstructing meaning and favoring non-linear forms aligns with the principles of postdramatic theatre—a relatively new dramatic mode for Arab audiences, whose presence remains limited within the broader landscape of Arab theatre.

Among the international performances, the festival provided its audience with the opportunity to experience two distinguished examples of dance theatre, each deserving admiration for their unique techniques and approaches.

The first performance was the German production Ba(b)el, presented by the Ballet Company of Theatre Trier and directed by Fernando Melo and Roberto Scafati. In this piece, ten performers skillfully employed human-size movable panels to create barriers, walls, and cities, with the team precisely rearranging and reassembling the stage space to achieve complex timing in their movements. Melo and Scafati explore the fragility of understanding—what drives people apart and what pulls them back together? Their choreography reimagines the Tower of Babel as a visceral struggle between chaos and unity, where miscommunication fractures relationships before the dancers rebuild them in moments of profound, wordless reconciliation.

The second performance was the Romanian work Elevator, choreographed by Feher Ferenic. This minimalist piece featured no set pieces and utilized just three dancers, who, illuminated by a limited spotlight, depicted the routines of life inside an elevator. The empty space accentuated the physicality and skills of the performers, blending dance with stylized physical action and incorporating a mix of acrobatics and repetitive movements in varying rhythms.

One of the positive aspects of this edition of the festival was its ability to attract a new generation of young Arab theatre enthusiasts, particularly through seminars where the majority of participants were emerging researchers and academics. Additionally, some academics and researchers participated in one of the seminars but were unable to attend the Arabic-language sessions due to the lack of interpretation services. The Arabic performances also did not feature translated subtitles/supertitles, which could have been displayed alongside the performances to enable non-Arabic-speaking guests to engage more effectively with the content. Furthermore, the outcomes of the workshops were not disseminated widely and remained confined to the participating groups, despite addressing significant topics in theatre studies and practice. These observations serve as recommendations for the festival management to consider without undermining its essential role in advancing Arab experimental theatre through cultural exchange and interaction with contemporary global experiences, which this edition has successfully achieved.

[1] Israa Al Sheikh, Dialogue with the director of the Egyptian performance “Where No One Sees Me” Mahmoud Salah Atteya: The show monitors the state of alienation and warns against losing oneself. The English Daily bulletin of The CIFET 31, Friday 6 Sep, 2024, Issue 6, p 4.

[2] The crew encountered numerous obstacles on their journey to the festival, traveling via Amman Airport from the West Bank. The director and stage manager were from Nablus, while two technicians and an actress were from Jenin. Their departure coincided with an Israeli incursion into the Jenin camp. They resorted to boarding an ambulance, pretending to require medical assistance. This allowed them to bypass and reach a designated meeting point outside the combat zone, where the director waited for them in his car. From there, their journey continued, marked by long hours navigating numerous checkpoints and eventually crossing the border through the Rafah land crossing.

[3] Rufaida Khalifa, Dialogue with the director of the German performance “Wunde-Wound” Nour Amin: The show responds to the global system of injustice and seeks healing. The Daily bulletin of The CIFET 31, Monday 9 Sep, 2024, Issue 9, p 6.