Ahmed El Attar brings rage, resistance and humanity to the stage in Avignon

From the show

In this edition, arts24 decamps to the south of France for a special show from the world-renowned Avignon theatre festival as it celebrates its 80th edition. Korean is this year’s guest language at the event, offering audiences an insight into drama, dance and literary work from Korean artists. We also check out Julien Gosselin’s high-tech, literary exploration of evil in ‘Maldoror’, on stage at the Palais des Papes and talk to Egyptian director Ahmed El Attar about his recent work.

El Attar’s play ‘Salma mon amour’ examines how the war in Gaza affects a wealthy family in Cairo. In our interview with him, he tells us why he wanted to paint a more nuanced portrait of his ‘Gen Z’ heroine than the stereotypes he often encounters. For him, the feelings of injustice and rage he wrote into the character of Salma constitute an urgent humanitarian message.