Before the Revolution | THEATER DER WELT

In the organizer's words:

Two bodies on a board of nails talk about fear, stagnation and longing in Egypt before the 2011 revolution.

The 18 days of demonstrations and bloody clashes on Tahrir Square in Cairo in 2011 have gone down in world history as an Egyptian part of the "Arab Spring". Today, Egypt's art and culture scene operates as if these events had never taken place: Only harmless entertainment formats and soap operas are in demand.
In Before the Revolution, Egyptian director and author Ahmed El Attar does not focus on the triggers of the 2011 uprising, but rather provides a deep insight into the state of mind of the nation before this eruptive moment. El Attar makes the stagnation in society as a whole palpable, which resulted in a tremendous longing for change. He also makes it clear that Egyptian society has not yet reached a sufficient understanding of how these changes should be shaped in a sustainable way.
In a restrained yet pulsating manner, he deals with events that took place before the "zero hour on Tahrir Square": the murder of the well-known publicist Farag Foda, the Islamist terrorist attacks in Luxor and Sharm El-Sheikh, the major railroad accident in Al-Ayyat, soccer chants and religious sermons, right through to songs by the young music stars Oka & Ortega.
Accompanied by the soundtrack of musician Hassan Khan, Before the Revolution offers a kaleidoscope of impressions. The actors Nanda Mohammad and Ramsi Lehner stand on a board of nails and speak two highly energetic monologues in parallel in a kind of alternating song. Their virtuoso spoken theater makes diffuse threat palpable, tries to shake things up and proves that recent Egyptian history is anything but a soap opera.

Venue: Spinnbau - East Wing
Introduction: 30 minutes before the start of each performance
Duration: 45 min
Information: In Arabic with German and English surtitles

All further information at: https://www.theaterderwelt.de/programm/

A festival of the German Centre of the International Theatre Institute e.V.
Organized by Chemnitz Theatres, the Festival Academy Brussels and the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 GmbH.

Price information:

Tickets at: theaterderwelt.de/before-the-revolution | 35% discount with festival pass. More information at: theaterderwelt.de/service/tickets