Postscript on Laila Soliman's Revolutionary Theatre

Extract

Laila Soliman's prophetic words in Lessons in Revolting, “this revolution is far from over” (2011) have come to fruition. The ouster of former President Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated government by a military takeover on 3 July 2013 (after only one year in power) has added another chapter to the uprising's trajectory. While the revolution inspired dramatic protest and equally spectacular creative expression in the form of experimental theatre, music, art, spoken word, and other forms, many Egyptian artistes and cultural critics have bemoaned a general stymying of artistic synergies at the state level due to a series of interconnected factors. They have attributed this attrition to “budget limitations, recurring safety problems, the so-called ‘religious eye’ that defied Egypt's cultural identity— particularly during the year when power was in the hands of the former president Mohamed Mursi—and a cabinet filled with either the Islamist factions or their sympathizers” (Metwaly 2013).