Theatre History Overview - Part 27 - Egyptian Theatre

Even though African Theater has been covered, the country of Egypt has a theatre history all of its own. Egyptian theatre goes back to ancient rituals. These ancient religious festivals incorporated expressive body movements, music, and a primitive form of impersonization. There was passion plays that dealt with the death and resurrection of the god, Osiris. It is thought that this play was performed annually at Abydo from about 2500B.C. to 550B.C. No part of the text for this play remains, but it is thought to be one of the most elaborate spectacles that wa ever staged because of the references that mention it.

The 17th century saw modern Egyptian theatre start to take shape. Small companies that performed shadow plays, puppetry, and/or impersonation would perform in public spaces across Egypt. Many of these performances dealth with the anger of the lower class against the tyrannical rulers. They would use symbolism that allowed them to avoid clashing with the rulers.

Contemporary theatre in Egypt really took of during the second half of the 19th century. The Ottoman ruler Isma'il Pasha wanted to transform Cairo intot he Paris of the East. He invited European companies to perform their works in Egypt. He establied the Cairo Opera House in 1869 and Tiato Al-Azbakeya, th country's first national theatre, in 1885.

There was a revolution in 1952 that put Gamal Abdel Nasser in charge of Egypt. Under his rule, Egypt went under a national renaissance. Playwrights shifted away from classical texts and focused on writing plays that dealt with Egyptian culture. In the 1970s, the open-door economic policie of Anwar Sadat, culture became seen as a luxury. This caused theatremakers to lose touch with the public. Theatre education remained outdated and many staqges across Egypt were left to rot. Many theatres today are still left in a decreipt state.

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