The 10th Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF)
(9-30 October)
Falaki Theatre
American University in Cairo, Downtown Campus, 24 Falaki St, Downtown Cairo, Tel 012 88721446
Tarakeeb (France-Egypt) mesmerizing shadow puppetry performance by Compagnie Hekau is about an Egyptian pigeon trainer comes to Paris with his peers to visit a Pigeon Salon. When his friends return home to Egypt, the protagonist chooses to stay in France, dreaming of a new life where he can pursue his passion. His journey to success, however, is paved with obstacles: Paris proves just as harsh as Cairo. In this austere new environment, the trainer must confront his own feelings of isolation as well as the prejudices that some Parisians have against pigeons. Director/Puppeteer/Puppet-builder: Nicole Ayach, Original idea/Puppet-builder: Hany Hommos, Musician and Composer: Mathieu Husson,
Set Design/Puppet-builder: Alix Sulmont, Puppeteer: Adèle Fernique
Composer: Abdallah Abo-Zekry, Lighting: Tatiana Carret
(27 and 28 October, 8 to 8.40pm).
American University in Cairo
New Cairo Campus
Gerhart Theatre
The Birthday Party, a three-act comedy of menace, written by Harold Pinter in 1957, tells the story of six characters trying to navigate their reality and the identities bestowed upon them. Revolving around Stanley’s birthday party, the play turns unexpected when the house welcomes two suspicious visitors looking for Stanley. Tackling themes of anxiety, delusion, guilt, paranoia, and psychosis, the play is one of Pinter’s most celebrated scripts and showcases his Nobel-prize-winning abilities (20, 24, 25 October, 7-9pm and 26 October, 9pm).
The Culture Ministry applies all precautionary and preventive measures with daily sterilization of the theatres in order to ensure the safety of the public, artists and workers.
The Cairo Puppet Theatre
Next to the Al-Attaba Metro Station, Tel 02 2591 0954
Arousty (my doll), a children play directed by Mohamed Nour
(Performances run daily except Tuesdays, 7pm).
The Floating Theatre
Abdel-Aziz Al-Saoud St, in front of Salaheddin Mosque, Al Manial, Tel 02 2368 4047, 012 8531 1358/ 0100 5233623
Small Theatre
101 Isolation, a play casts Abdel-Moneim Riyad, Ahmed Osman, Haidy Abdel-Khalek, Mohamed Mabrouk, Nada Afifi, and many more, written by Ali Abdel-Qawy, décor by Noha Nabil, costumes designed by Heba Magdy, music by Ahmed Nabil and directed by Mohamed Darwish
(Performances run on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, 8.30pm).
Metropol (The Children’s National) Theatre
6 Halim St, the beginning of 26th July, Attaba, Downtown, Tel 02 2593 3334
Beauty and the Beast, a play for children casts Bahaa Tharwat, Sayed Ragab, Hanaa Said, Ayman Beshay, Nashwa Hassan and many more, written by Nasser Mahmoud and directed by Mahmoud Hassan (Performances run daily except Mondays, 7.30pm).
Must Opera House
Al-Motamayez District, next to Dar Al Fouad Hospital, 6 October City, Giza, Tel 01094444273/4/5 – 16828
Anistoona play starring Donia Samir Ghanim, Baioumy Fouad, Karim Afify, Samy Moghawry, Amr Abdel-Aziz, written by Karim Samy, Ahmed Abdel-Wahab, and directed by Khaled Galal
(20, 21, 22, 27, 28 October, 8pm).
Al-Qawmi (The National) Theatre
Al Attaba Square, in front of Attab Post Office, Cairo, Tel, 02 25917783
Al-Hafeed (The Grandson) play is an adaptation of author Abdel-Hamid Gouda Al-Sahar’s novel. It is a social comedy about the Egyptian family that suffers from the negative impact of customs and traditions on its members and their psychology. The play casts actors Lucy, Abed Enany, Tamer Farag, Mohamed Mabrouk, Rana Khattab and many more, with music composed by Karim Arafa, lighting designed by Hazem Ahmed, décor built up by Hamdy Attiya, and directed by Youssef Al-Mansour (Performances run on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, 9pm).
Al-Salam Theatre
101 Qasr Al-Aini St, Tel 02 2795 2484/2794 3016/010 21521501
Youssef Edris Hall
Khetat Cupid (cupid’s plan), a play produced by the Modern Theatre, casts Abdel-Moneim Riyad, Nawal Samir, Kareem El-Husseiny, décor by Ahmed Amin, costumes designed by Rabab El-Prince, lighting by Abu-Bakr Elsherif, and directed by Ahmed Fouad
(Performances run on Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays, 7pm and 9pm).
Taliaa Theatre
Attaba Square, Tel 02 2593 7948
Salah Abdel-Sabour Hall
Leilat Alqatala (night of the killers) is Jose Triana’s play translated by Fathy El-Ashri and produced by Taliaa Theatre Company, and casts Nashwa Ismail, Emile Shawki, Shaimaa Yousry, décor and costumes designed by Samah Nabil, directed by Sobhy Youssef
(Performances run daily except Tuesdays, 8pm).
Zaki Tolaimat Hall
Cela (bond) play is performed by the Faculty of Arts theatre company, Ein Shams University, directed by Ahmed Alaa
(Performances run daily except Tuesdays, 7pm).
*A version of this article appears in print in the 20 October, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.
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