Laila Soliman (ليلى سليمان, born 1981) is an Egyptian writer and theater director from

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. She was born in Cairo and received a degree in theater and Arabic literature from the

American University in Cairo The American University in Cairo (AUC; ) is a private research university in New Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs at undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels, along with a continuing education program. ...

in 2004. She received an MA in theater from the Academy of Theatre and Dance at the

Amsterdam University of the Arts The Amsterdam University of the Arts () is a Dutch institute for higher professional education located in Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Ki ...

. She is currently a Visiting Associate Professor of Theater at

New York University Abu Dhabi New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD, ) is a degree-granting portal campus of New York University, established as a private liberal arts college in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Together with the main sites in New York and Shanghai, the por ...

. Her work stems from an interest in the state of flux in the contemporary socio-political climate and its influence on individuals, relationships, and power structures. It relies on collective memories and personal histories as ways of bridging the gap between the official versions of events and intimate, individual experiences. Her performances have been shown in Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon, Syria, India, South Africa, and various countries in Europe. She also creates multidisciplinary projects that tie installation and theater together. In 2011, with Ruud Gielens, she directed ''Lessons in Revolting'', which was created with ten other Egyptian artists following the

Egyptian revolution of 2011 The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January Revolution (;), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police holiday" as a statement against ...

. In 2014, her play ''Hawa Elhorreya'' ("Whims of Freedom") about the

Egyptian revolution of 1919 The Egyptian revolution of 1919 (, ''Thawra 1919'') was a nation-wide revolution in the Sultanate of Egypt against British occupation which lasted from November 1918 to July 1919. Occurring right after the end of World War I, the revolution ...

was presented at the Egyptian Centre for Culture and Arts and at the

London International Festival of Theatre The London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT) is a biennial festival of theatre, performance and cultural events. The organisation also supports year-round activity in London. The organisation was founded by Rose Fenton and Lucy Neal, wi ...

. Soliman does not have a theatre company but instead people join in her projects as collaborators. She was a part of the independent theater scene in Cairo that started in the 1990s, in which plays are produced and performed in private settings. She takes on various functions herself in support of her projects as required, including publicity, fundraising and set and costume design. In 2019, Soliman started working on ''Wanaset Yodit'' and ''Woman at Point Zero'' which were impacted by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. ''Woman at Point Zero'' is inspired by the novel by Egyptian writer and feminist

Nawal El Saadawi Nawal El Saadawi (, , 22 October 1931 – 21 March 2021) was an Egyptian feminist writer, activist and physician. She wrote numerous books on the subject of women in Islam, focusing on the concerns of third-world women pertaining to sexuality, p ...

. The opera tells the story of two women: Fatma, a feminist imprisoned for man-slaughter and Sama, a documentary filmmaker who wants to tell Fatma's story. Produced by LOD Theatre, it explores abuse and women's liberation.''Woman at Point Zero'' has been touring international across the globe since its premiere. It also won "Jury Nominee" and "Best New Opera".

Published Works

Plays

Source: * ''The Retreating World'' (2004) by

Naomi Wallace Naomi Wallace (born 1960) is an American playwright, screenwriter and poet from Kentucky. She is widely known for her plays, and has received several distinguished awards for her work. Biography Naomi Wallace was born in Prospect, Kentucky, ...

* ''Ghorba, Images of Alienation'' (2006) * ''Egyptian Products'' (2008) * ''…At Your Service!'' (2009) * ''Spring Awakening in the Tuktuk'' (2010) * ''No Time for Art'', series (2011) * ''Here, There & Everywhere'' (2013) * ''La Grande Maison'' (2015) * ''The National Museum of the State Security System'' (2015) * ''Zigzig'' (2016) * ''Superheroes'' (2017) * ''Museum of Lungs'' (2018) * ''My Body Belongs to Me'' (2019) * ''Wanaset Yodit'' (2020) * ''Woman at Point Zero'' (2022) * ''Temporary People'' (2022)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soliman, Laila 21st-century Egyptian women writers 21st-century Egyptian writers 1981 births Living people Egyptian dramatists and playwrights Egyptian women dramatists and playwrights Egyptian theatre directors Egyptian women theatre directors The American University in Cairo alumni Writers from Cairo