A captivating conversation with theater director and playwright Laila Soliman about theater, cultural discourse and decolonization across the Arab world. Using three of her major works – Zigzag, La Grande Maison and her first opera Woman at Point Zero – as reference, we discuss western-centric art education, dismantle the concept of “alternative narratives”, and collective memory. We think about theater as a medium, what it takes to bring about a cultural “golden age”, and where and how is the best place to pass on knowledge.
Laila Soliman is an independent Egyptian theater director and playwright who lives and works in Cairo. Born in Cairo, she gained a degree in theater and Arabic literature from the American University in Cairo and a MA at Dasarts in Amsterdam.
Her performances have been shown across the Arab world, India, South Africa and Europe. Her first opera production – Woman at Point 0 – based on Nawal el Saadawi’s novel by the same name premiered in 2022.
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
The afikra Podcast is our flagship series featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new found curiosity and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first.
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ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
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THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl7IMTj6Jk7yAJXCMMqxaP5A&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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