Laila Soliman

Laila Soliman (b. 1981) is an independent Egyptian theatre director and playwright, living and working in Cairo. She graduated from the American University in Cairo in 2004 with a degree in Theatre and Arabic Literature. Shortly after, she directed Naomi Wallace’s “Retreating World”. In 2006, she staged Ghorba, images of alienation, an original text based on a process of improvisation with the actors of the play. Soliman’s work has at its roots a belief in the role of theatre and art as tools for empowering the individual and aiding personal expression. This is reflected in her involvement in the founding of “Cairo to Camps” in 2002, a project based on conducting art workshops targeting Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, as well as raising awareness and solidarity in Egypt regarding the issue of refugees.

In 2008, the Royal Court Theatre in London, granted her a residency for emerging playwrights. Her play “Egyptian Products” was stage-read in London, New York and Beirut. She also worked as a dramaturge on Swiss director’s Stefan Kaegi’s documentary theatre piece “Radio Muezzin”. In 2009, she directed “…At your service!”, a play based on an adaptation of two plays by Harold Pinter and Fo/Rame at the Hanager theatre, Cairo. In 2010, she wrote and directed the first Arabic adaptation of Frank Wedekind’s Spring Awakening, staged in Cairo, Alexandria, Damascus and Beirut. In 2011 she co-directed with Ruud Gielens the critically acclaimed performance “Lessons in Revolting” created with 10 other Egyptian artists in the follow-up of the revolution.