Plastic Dream

The play is among a very limited number of Egyptian plays that dealt with the revolution of 2011 and its repercussions in a critical way. “Plastic Dream” starts by revealing the labels and illusions related to the exoticisation of Egypt. First seen by the exoticising western tourist, then seen by the eyes of its own citizens, Cairo seems like a fairy tale where all the opposites meet. A place where dreams are killed, a square where revolution can be made, a society where everything can be bought with money, and a reality show where visiting Tahrir square has become a touristic fashion. It’s 2013, the Muslim Brotherhood have won the presidential and the parliamentary elections. The young generation is divided between the frustrated dream of freedom and dignity, and the promise of paradise if they join terrorist acts. The dream of a better tomorrow has no place to go now, except being stuck in the shores of illegal migration. The revolution has been labelled as a “spring”, and the quest for personal freedom, privacy and dignity has come to nothing. A black satire where migration could seem like a valid way out. Nonetheless a question remains unanswered: does the Egyptian migrant see the reality of the western society he/she aspires to live in? or are we all recycling mutual illusions and labels?..