Most people’s knowledge of the nature of disability is largely informed by stereotypes. This is further reinforced by the fact that Egypt’s disabled population is largely absent from everyday life.
Only those with disabled family and friends know about the special skills and talents challenged individuals are ready to offer the world. Or, more accurately, that was the situation before a group of disabled actors brought down the house at the Gomhuria Theater this week.
“Come Listen to This, an extraordinary improvisational performance acted by physically and mentally challenged children, is the brainchild of Egyptian director and disabled rights activist Nada Sabet.
Sabet was originally inspired to undertake a theater project for disabled children after attending a workshop in Cairo run by members of the UK-based dance company AMICI, a professional dance company headed by Wolfgang Stange and composed entirely of actors with a variety of physical and mental disabilities.
After the Cairo workshop concluded early last year, Sabet was invited to London for a weeklong training session at AMICI, where she learned the skills needed to create a dynamic performance with disabled actors, and gained further inspiration from the talented directors and performers at AMICI.
Seeing what Wolfgang Stange had managed to accomplish with his group, Sabet was determined to do the same with a group of Egyptian students from the Right to Live Association, a Cairo NGO and school for disabled children and young adults.
The student actors chosen to participate in “Come Listen to this have already experienced dance and theater during their time at the Right to Live Association’s Delivrande School, where their normal academic courses are supplemented with creative classes and physical education. Creating the performance was a challenge nonetheless.
With Sabet’s assistance and guidance, each student came up with an original story to center their performance around. While some students told true stories, others were inspired by their dreams, emotions and creative outlooks. During a 40-hour workshop, the students and their director crafted the stories into a unique and energetic performance.
On Wednesday night at the Gomhuria Theater, the students took the stage, confident from the success of Tuesday’s opening performance, and comfortable after long hours of rehearsal. From the first line, the performance was electric – the actors, accompanied onstage by Sabet, were completely in their element in front of an enthusiastic audience, and delivered group and individual performances that were alternately funny, moving and shocking. Needless to say, all were inspirational.
Aside from being wildly entertaining, the performance was professional and engaging – qualities that forced the audience to transcend stereotypes and appreciate the performance as a performance, and not as a show performed by disabled children.
“I went in thinking this would be a cute performance by disabled kids, but once the show got started I forgot where I was and just enjoyed the show – they did an amazing job, observed audience member Sherif Atef.
This aspect of the show demonstrates the power that theater and dance have to bring disabled people into a realm where their unique talents can be appreciated by any audience, and where the differences between people can be superseded by the connection between audience and actor.
The connection was clearly there, and was further deepened by a post-show question and answer session, where audience members engaged with the performers and Sabet directly.
“The show was great and the audience loved it, but it was even better to see how well the question and answer session went – seeing the audience so fascinated and impressed by what they accomplished and so eager to learn more was very moving. This gives me hope for my son, said Mona Ahmed, an audience member and mother of a disabled child.
Beyond what the performance had to offer for audience and actor, “Come Listen to this had the powerful effect of blasting through the stereotypes about disabled people that exist in Egypt and around the world, opening a new path for the recognition of these individuals’ exceptional talents and fundamental humanity.
“Come Listen to This was part of this year’s celebration of International Disability Day put on by the British Council Egypt’s Arts and Development project. Other International Disability Day activities this year included seminars in Alexandria and Cairo featuring British and Egyptian disability experts Dr Heba Hagrass, Dr Bob Price and Peter Coleridge.
