On the importance of being an Arab

Overview

On the Importance of being an Arab is based on the events of the life of director/performer Ahmed El Attar. He is both the material and the one presenting that material. In sequences based upon his personal archives – love letters, school and university grades, programmes of the performances he has attended, work documents and letters etc. – a character is drawn who shares his views on his own perceptions of himself and on how the outside world perceives him.

This production further develops the performance style that has characterised recent Temple Independent Company productions – a combination of theatre, music and visual arts. A single intense rhythmic soundtrack accompanies the performance from beginning to end. In its emphasis on the use of electronics, driving and insistent loops and riffs, and emotional synth workouts, the music, composed by Hassan Khan, is based on contemporary Cairene Shaabi forms.

The soundtrack’s presence and volume varies from the barely perceptible to full-on blasts. Video clips, also by Khan, are projected behind the performer, making this a multimedia performance in what the company describes as 'new and relevant Egyptian theatre that is sensitive to the contemporary context in both form and content'.


This project was part of Sharjah Biennial 9