It’s a black comedy starring established actress Magda Mounir and rising star Islam Shawki. A thoughtful mediation on death and the need for art, it depicts the last minutes in the life of Samira, an aged stage actress who spent much of her life grappling with despair. Saddened by the death of her partner in work and life, Mustafa, she complains about the state of the theatre – a dying being, like herself – while financial difficulties force her to hide from her landlord, unable to pay rent.
The first ten minutes of the show feature only Samira as she returns to her messy home wearing a classic dress, scarf and wig to cover her unkempt grey hair. She slow dances with a framed photo of her and Mustafa at their prime. Later, she keeps talking of death: “Cowards die multiple times during their life, while bold people die only once”; “To die is to sleep. To die is to forget about pain.”
Feeling desperate and lonely, Samira sets a hangman’s noose in the reception of her flat. She steps on the chair with the intention of ending her life, only to be surprised by an unexpected guest sneaking into her flat: a young, strong man dressed in a grey suit and holding a sickle. He is Azrael, he tells her, the Angel of Death, but before he gets on with his business he’d like to know why she is so eager to take her own life. He asks, she answers. They exchange views on death and art, and start to sing for the love of theatre: famous lyrics out of famous, popular Egyptian shows.
The twist takes place 10 minutes before the end when the young man reveals that he is not the Angel of Death but her neighbour, an amateur actor desperate to get on stage. But soon after he becomes the Angel of Death again and orders her harshly to kill herself, saying he has other work to get on with as he checks his wristwatch. As he counts down, she is terrified and starts begging him to wait, eager to make a final wish: to recite lines of vernacular poetry by the great Salah Jahin on stage, which she proceeds to do, coming back to life momentarily. At the end, the lights go off completely, hinting that it is all over for Samira. Then, Azrael begins to define life, reiterating Macbeth: “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
The lighting was perhaps too erratic but the decor was effectively simple and intimate: an old rotary telephone, photo frames on the walls, a wooden hanger and an old kilim, all of which date from the 1960s. The play is written and directed by Youssef Mounir, the son of Mourad and the famous actress Faiza Kamal. Youssef’s recent work as a director includes Segn el Nesaa (Women’s Prison) written by the late author Fathiya Al-Assal and performed on Al-Salam Theatre stage last season. The play’s minimalist spirit is reflected in the script, which is concise and economical.
The rapport between the two actors is excellent. Both switch from tragedy to comedy and back swiftly and smoothly, and Mounir’s energy is impressive. This is her first time on stage since 2009, when she starred in Si Ali wa Tabi’uho Quffa (Mr Ali and His Squire Scuttle). Raised in a family of artists, her brother being the famous actor and musician Mourad Mounir, Magda Mounir was born in 1952 in Port Said. She studied agriculture at Cairo University and joined her brother’s theatre troupe shortly after. She has starred in many television dramas since 1986, and appeared in five major plays, travelling the country with the General Organisation of Cultural Palaces.
“This play”, she told me, “truly reflects the deteriorating state of theatre today despite there being a long list of performances on the waiting list. The problem is with equal opportunities, not number of stages, even though they too are limited.”
One Moment is showing through 13 July, with another season coming soon.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 9 July, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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