Egyptian theatre production\'s censorship clash

The production of “Ashqeen Turabek” (I Don’t Understand) is locked in a struggle with the Censorship Committee as the director was asked to remove all attacks on or references to the ruling regime, purportedly out of fear that production creators will be ill-treated. The committee has banned the appearance on stage of an actor wearing a false beard and demanded the removal of a pun on the Prime Minister’s name (Qandeel, also meaning “lantern”) from a scene that alludes to him. Production director Mohammed Sharqway said that the censors’ demands compromise the integrity of the show, possibly leading to the removal of two scenes out of the play’s eight. He also described the reasons beyond the demands as “more dictatorial and tyrannical than anything that took place in Mubarak’s time.” Pointing out that this is the second time the censors refused to pass the play after it was sent to two different committees, “Is this what the revolution was for?” he asked, “Is this the evil future that awaits Egyptian theatre? Or is the war for freedom of expression and the freedom to create going to go through even sharper corners?” I Don’t Understand is currently being shown in Salah Jaheen Hall in Agooza’s Balloon Theatre.