Hawa El Horreya (Whims of freedom)

Egyptian divas

WWI left Egypt, at the time a British protectorate, drained and defiant. The revolution of 1919 then presented itself. Almost 100 years later the Egyptian theatre-maker Laila Soliman brings this past to life. She examines the songs and plays, old books and archives of the era, looking for parallels with the revolution that is taking place in Egypt today. And to this end uses photos and excerpts from the lives of two theatre divas of the time – the first Muslim women ever to perform on stage and so unleash a revolution in the theatre and in the lives of many Muslim women.

For Hawa El Horreya (Whims of freedom), the writer, playwright and director Laila Soliman cooperated with a cultural historian, a director, a musician, a political prisoner and an actress. Soliman studied in Cairo and at DasArts in Amsterdam. In her multimedia performance Lessons in Revolting (2011) she documented the brutal violence of the military police during the uprising in Tahrir Square. She created the performance with her partner, the Flemish director Ruud Gielens.

‘Whims of Freedom, a documentary-musical-theatre performance directed by Laila Soliman, explores Egypt’s 1919 Revolution, drawing parallels to today.’ – Sara Elkamel