Again and again the question of the political in the performing arts is repeated. Reflection is often suggested as the main milestone of an artistic process, in a breathless time. Since 2011 this relationship between reflection and the notion of time is one of the key issues I struggle with. The attempt to create from within. The difficulty to reflect on events before the passage of time, that aids the memory to undergo the natural process of selection. I find collective and personal memory, of the body as well as of the mind, and personal histories pertinent in bridging the gap between the official versions of events and the intimate experience of the regular individual.

About Laila Soliman

Laila Soliman (born in 1981) is an independent Egyptian theatre director and playwright, living and working in Cairo. She studied at the German School and the American University in Cairo and obtained her MA in theater at Dasarts (AHK) in Amsterdam. Her works have been mainly shown in Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon, Syria and in Europe. Amongst her most important works are “The Retreating World” (2004), “Ghorba, images of alienation” (2006), “…At your service!” (2009), “Spring Awakening in the Tuktuk” (2010), “Lessons in Revolting” (2011), “Here, There & Everywhere” (2013), “No Time for Art 0/1/2/3” (2011-2013), “Hawa ELhorreya, Whims of Freedom” (2014) “La Grande Maison” (2015), “The National Museum of the State Security System” (2015), “Zigzig” (2016). Her play “Egyptian Products” (2009) was published in the anthology Plays from the Arab World by Nick Hern Books and the Royal Court Theatre, London.