University and school theatrical activities may not be the first thing that springs to mind when we think of the dramatic arts scene in Egypt. But in actuality college theatre not only a rich history, but has been the incubator, if not the birthplace, of many of our best-known talents that are household names today. Fouad Al-Mohandes, Adel Imam, Yehya Al-Fakharani, Mahmoud Al-Meligi, and many others started out in university productions in colleges that specialised in subjects other than drama.
The subject hits close to home for me since my late mother, the eminent critic Nehad Selaiha, first fell in love with theatre at Shoubra Al-Thanawiya Secondary School for Girls, where she played Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. Family members disagree on the prop she borrowed from the local butcher – her brother insists it was a meat cleaver while her sisters hold that it was a set of scales – but they agree about her joy with the bright blue breeches she wore for the role. At Orman Secondary School, my late father, Mohamed Enani, who went on to become a playwright after graduating from the Faculty of Arts, was mentored by none other than the legendary Abdel-Moneim Madbouli (such was the importance we gave to the arts in those times). He proudly told the eminent thespian that he wanted to tread the boards himself, but Madbouli said no: “Your true calling lies in writing for the theatre.”
This had its effect all across the Arab world. In Egypt’s golden age, from university and school stages, Egyptian stars, too many to mention, found their calling, and thus Egyptian theatre and cinema in particular went on to be the source of Egypt’s soft power – as it is now known – making our country the centre of the Arab cultural world throughout the 20th century and into the 21st. Arguably, with our rich human resource of young people, and the importance of the arts in spreading culture, university and school theatre should be nurtured by government authorities and school administrations alike, given a wealth of resources, and encouraged to produce the kind of figures who become assets in our society.
And yet, while Egypt still maintains a number of university theatre festivals, and there is a budget allotted to the Youth Affairs department of every university, that budget’s dispensation relies largely on the whims of those in charge, many of whom are suspicious of the arts in general and theatre in particular. Undeterred, student theatre groups have for the most part dipped into their own pockets and done their best to ensure that the show goes on. Sometimes, however, this alleged state of affairs comes to a head and boils over into some scandal or controversy.
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Currently, a furore is raging over Capital University (formerly Helwan University) due to a university theatre production (aptly named Al-Dohdeira, or The Pitfall) being forcibly stopped in the middle of the performance by Faculty of Law administrators flipping the main circuit breaker and shutting off power to the entire theatre – stage, auditorium, corridors and all. This predictably sparked mass panic and resulted in a stampede accompanied by trampling and mayhem.
The whole business started when the Dean of the Faculty of Law Amal Lotfy, allegedly made it difficult for students at the faculty to conduct their theatrical activities: the students claim that the Al-Dohdeira team had difficulty securing a budget from Youth Affairs, were barred from using the Faculty of Law theatre for rehearsals, denied a budget for theatre rental as a means of putting a stop to the performance, and paid the rental fee out of their own pockets, and generally had to swim against the current to put on the show.
According to the director of the show, Mohamed “Mizo” Ashraf, two students in particular – whose names were withheld by the mainstream media covering the issue – posted a video on social media about the challenges they had faced due to faculty discrimination. They also complained about the current trend of cancelling student performances at regional universities “to save on expenditures”. Lotfy demanded that the video be deleted and that the students apologise. They complied.
According to members of the crew, the team was told unofficially that the two students who appeared in the video should not be allowed to take part in the show, but to date have produced no official ruling or documentation to that effect. Excluding them would’ve been impossible since they were a significant part of the cast, but the faculty administration reportedly refused to meet with the team to resolve the matter.
Evidently, during a performance for the jury of a small university competition, two administrators spotted the two students on stage and all faculty members left the auditorium in protest. According to Ahmed Mohamed Aleeq, student activities consultant to Capital University’s president on the channel Sada Al-Balad, the manager of the theatre then took the decision to cut off the sound system. Mizo claimed that he tried to meet the faculty administration, but they refused to see him. Lotfy, he claimed, said within earshot of him while still refusing to meet him, “Theatre, fiddlesticks! Theatre is haram (a sin) in the first place!”
Needless to say, reports of this statement resulted in a significant media brouhaha. Extra News covered the statement issued by Capital University pledging its “full respect for all students and intention to listen to all opinions… and take appropriate action in accordance with laws and regulations.” Aleeq, in a telephone interview with Extra News, did not deny the incident of cutting off the power (as mentioned above, a video allegedly representing the incident was posted on social media) but spoke in favour of “disciplinary imperatives” and against “letting the students do whatever they want.”
When asked whether Lotfy had in fact said that theatre was a sin, Aleeq responded, “how could that be when we have a theatre department that teaches the arts, and we have a faculty of fine arts, and we teach art!” Meanwhile, a member of the production team, Ahmed Amin, stated on social media: “[U]nfortunately, nothing was resolved, and the college wants to crush any hope for a student who wants to participate in the artistic activity that is their right.”
Since then Ashraf Zaki, the ex-head of the Performing Artists’ Union, spoke personally to Lotfy, who said she would “forgive” the students if they issued an apology, which they subsequently did. Many people considered the matter closed, but the tension between art and extremism, once invoked, is not easy to dismiss. MP Amira Saber has demanded in parliament “that an official legal investigation be conducted with all parties concerned in the deliberate cutting off of power at Capital University.”
She was further quoted on Cairo Live as saying that “the bulk of the responsibility rests with university administrators” and that “we need art lovers and art supporters who believe in the importance of student activities.” Movie director Yousry Nasrallah has been quoted as saying that Lotfy’s statements “constitute a danger to national security”. Meanwhile, Sayed Ibrahim Qandeel, dean of Capital University, claims he has pledged 30 million pounds to fund student activities, and has granted Al-Dohdeira a new performance date on 7 June 2026.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 11 June, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.
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