CIFET speech

By Martha Coigney

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"TWENTY YEARS OLD! That's impossible. Even with Peter Brook the show was only 24hours! Theatre is the art of disapperance -- it is there and then it's gone -- each night -- gone. How can we count up the years for an art that isn't there?

"We can because of the artists who arrive in Cairo from around the world each year. Some come from near, some come from far. Many colleagues come from great hardship. Many work in theatre where theatre is a dangerous profession. But for 20 years theatre people have come to Cairo and have made this city a safe haven for creative work and exchange.

"For the past four years I havee been blessed with two extraordinary colleagues. Ginka Tcholakova Henle and Jean Michel Meunier are both theatre artists of demanding intelligence and generousity. All three of us are internationalists who regard the Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre as a yearly miracle.

"This year, 2008, Ginka, Jean Michel and I saw over 60 DVD's and videos from 45 countries. There will be hundreds of artists working in Cairo to tell their stories. That is theatre's job. Theatre tells who we are to others, who in turn tell us who they are.

"Because of theatre, because of actors we see life -- now. We sit together to witness life happening to them while it happens to us.

"A good life is lived in every moment. Theatre finds its truth in every moment. A renowned Canadian thinker, John Ralston Saul, said, "Theatre is a wonderful rehearsal for life."

"That is why we are able to push back the end of the world while we come to Cairo to hear each other's stories. To be a community.

"The Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre saves lives. It should disappear each year after ten amazing days. It should reappear 355 days later -- depending on Ramadan.

"Like life, theatre cannot stay in front of you. It disappears. But also like life, theatre's moments of truth will stay in your memory and change your heart forever.

"That's why Cairo miracle returns each year to help save the world -- one play at a time."

Marth Coigney is head of CIFET international Viewing Committee.