 The veteran actor Abu Bakr Ezzat who passed away last week was a gem. "I saw myself in the role of Kamal, in Naguib Mahfouz's celebrated The Cairo Trilogy -- in Palace Walk [part one] where Mahfouz depicts his own youth. This was my stage debut," was what Ezzat told me a long time ago, when he had just started his acting career. His features are not characteristically that of a natural-born comedian -- not say like Ismail Yassin or Adel Imam. However, deep inside he is the comedian to the core. And, you can see a flicker of his sense of humour in the twinkle of his eyes. Comedy for him was a philosophy, for the precise nature of his relationship with his trade had a level of depth that is very rare indeed. parent page (9 - 15 March 2006, issue #785) |