Midnight in Cairo

Raphael Cormack

ISBN 10: 0863569366 / ISBN 13: 9780863569364

Published by Saqi Books, GB, 2022

About this Item

'Beguiling and original.' Marina Warner1920s Cairo: singers were pressing hit records, dramatic troupes were springing up and cabarets were packed - a counterculture was on the rise. In bars, hash-dens and music halls, people of all backgrounds came together as a passionate group of artists captivated Egyptian society.Of these performers, Cairo's biggest stars were female, and they asserted themselves on the stage like never before. Two of the most famous troupes were run by women; Badia Masabni's dancehall became the hottest nightspot in town; pioneer of Egyptian cinema Aziza Amir made her stage debut; and legendary singer Oum Kalthoum first rose to fame. It is these women, who knew both the opportunities and prejudices that this world offered, who best reveal this cosmopolitan and raucous city's secrets. Midnight in Cairo tells the thrilling story of Egypt's interwar nightlife and entertainment industry through the lives of its pioneering women. Introducing an eccentric cast of characters, it brings to life a world of revolutionary ideas and provocative art - one which laid the foundations of Arab popular culture today. It is a story of modern Cairo as we have never heard it before.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780863569364

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Midnight in Cairo
• Publisher: Saqi Books, GB
• Publication Date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0863569366
• ISBN 13: 9780863569364
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 311 grams

About this title

Synopsis

One of the world’s greatest twentieth-century cosmopolitan cities, Cairo was a magnet for the ambitious and talented. During the 1920s and 30s, a vibrant music, theater, film, and cabaret scene flourished there, defining what it meant to be a “modern” Egyptian. Women came to dominate that scene—as stars but also as impresarias, entrepreneurs, owners, and promoters of the entertainment industry.


Raphael Cormack unveils the rich histories of independent women like vaudeville star Rose al-Youssef (who launched one of Cairo’s most important newspapers); nightclub singer Mounira al-Mahdiyya (the first woman to lead an Egyptian theater company); her great rival, Umm Kalthoum (still venerated for her soulful lyrics); and other fabulous female stars. Buffeted by crosswinds of colonialism and nationalism, conservatism and liberalism, “religious” and “secular” values, patriarchy and feminism, this new generation of celebrity opened new horizons of possibility for women in Egypt and throughout the Middle East.