The cast of “We Live in Cairo.” Photo: Evgenia Eliseeva
Presented by the A.R.T.
Book, music, lyrics by Daniel Lazour and Patrick Lazour
Directed by Taibi Magar
Choreography by Samar Haddad King
Music directed by Madeline Smith
May 14 – June 23, 2019
Loeb Drama Center
Cambridge, MA
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Critique by Kitty Drexel
(Cambridge, MA) There are a few things that must be established for a white audience to fully digest the A.R.T.’s production of We Live in Cairo.
- We Live in Cairo takes place in Cairo, Egypt. Cairo has a long, aggravated political history of fascism. Our own country is currently fighting a wannabe fascist dictator. Cairo’s problems are our problems.
- This is a timeline of the Arab Spring.
- The United States Census defines those of Middle Eastern or North African descent as white.
- People of Middle Eastern or North African descent living in the US do not consider themselves white. Neither do racists.
- The US inclusion of MENA in its definition of whiteness stems from slavery and the golden rule: the people who have the money make the rules.
- Fascism doesn’t go away on its own. It must be fought. Activists use the tools they have to do the work they must.
