Wael Shawky 'Drama 1882’ Screening at Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Brussels, 14 and 15 May

1 May 2025

Book Tickets Via Kunstenfestivaldesarts

As part of the Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Wael Shawky’s Drama 1882, is being screened at Albert Hall Brussels. Using mesmerising videos, sculptures and complex historical reconstructions, Wael Shawky raises questions about the ambiguities of documentary records, and the authority of written history. His latest work, Drama 1882, was a highlight of last year’s Venice Biennale.

The eight-part operatic film reconstructs the moment of Egypt’s nationalist Urabi revolt against colonial rule (1879-1882). Colonel Ahmed Urabi, who rose through the ranks from his peasant origins to found the Egyptian Nationalist Party, led the uprising and campaigned to secure Egypt for the Egyptians. But what exactly happened in 1882 to implode his popular movement, precipitate a full-scale bombardment of Alexandria by British forces, and his subsequent exile?

Filmed in a historic theatre in Alexandria, and set against a backdrop of striking, painterly sets, Shawky directs his cast with precision in a magical, theatrical musical. The characters move in a slow, hypnotic choreography, they sway like plants immersed in the current of a river. The word ‘drama’ has many implications: it conjures a sense of entertainment, the sense of catastrophe and our inherent doubt in history. A timely and critical conversation about the necessity of revisiting history and the futility of war.

Wednesday 14 May, 08:30pm

Thursday 15 May, 08:30pm

Albert Hall Brussels, Chaussée de Wavre, 651, 1040, Etterbeek

Find out more via Kunstenfestivaldesarts.

Image: Wael Shawky, Drama 1882, 2024, 4k video, sound, color, VFX, Arabic, © Wael Shawky, Courtesy of Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Lisson Gallery, Lia Rumma, and Barakat Contemporary