“Theatre is the heart of our community; it’s a legacy handed down from ancestors who were born with art in their blood.” This is how Nubian artists articulated their deep-rooted passion, longing, and love for theatre during the recent screening of “Tyatro al-Nubia تياترو نوبة”, a documentary produced by Nubian Geographic —a Nubian initiative dedicated to preserving the heritage, history, art, and languages of the Nubian people — in collaboration with the Tandem Amwaj Collective Routes. This event, held last month in Cairo, was the first screening event for Nubian Geographic’s documentary after their debut in Aswan. The tears, the laughter, and the nostalgia for theatre were all weaved together in the documentary into a single, overarching emotion: the feeling of community. Watching it was like exploring an ancient monument that celebrated centuries of artistry, even though it was just a 30-minute film. While the grandeur of monuments like the Abu Simbel temples define Nubia’s landscape, history is also etched into the stories and emotions of its people. Even after years of displacement and the destruction of public spaces like the Abu Simbel community theater, the stories of these spaces…
“Art Runs in Our Blood”: How Nubian Community Theatres Preserved Heritage
September 3, 2024
