The Theatre Times: Ten out of 20 plays at this year’s Cairo International Festival for Contemporary and Experimental Theatre addressed women’s experiences.
Such was the focus on women’s issues and rights at the festival’s 24th edition, that Femi Osofisan, the Nigerian playwright, and critic who was honored at this year’s event, commented that: “This year’s edition is ultimately feminine.”
2 comments:
In my opinion, these plays are the height of social commentary within the theatrical world at this very moment. In a place like Cairo, with people from the Middle East, a place that is currently infamous for their rather backwards social values, this type of theatre is courageous, fresh, and highly important to the progression of women in the Middle East. It's not only remarkable that there are so many female playwrights, its important to acknowledge that there are so many stories about the perils and strengths of women that live in a world that is truly working against them. I would love to see reviews of these performances, I want to see how the audiences, both male and female, reacted to stories about feminine strength and uprising like Women In Love And Resistance. I'd definitely consider going to festivals like these in really controversial parts of the world because I believe that it may very well present some of the most important and well-done theatre of our generation.
In light of all the recent news surrounding Harvey Weinstein and abuse accusations in the entertainment industry, it was empowering to read an article about theatre that is uplifting women's voices and experiences. These plays, some looking at the female experience through the lens of their relationship with men and some not, seem raw and vulnerable. It is especially interesting that these plays focus on Arab women's experiences, as they are often not as heard across the world and particularly in the west in theatre productions. As Shazad said above, throughout reading this article I wondered how these plays were received by both men and women, and audiences both from Cairo and from other parts of the world. It seems as though women, especially Arab women, would find these works inspiring and ones that speak to the most basic female experiences.
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