The Awlad Allam Theatre Company feels like a small city, an extension of life in the Awlad Allam community. Inspired by Naguib Mahfouz’s existentialist philosophies, the focus of the building is the collaboration and dialogue that occurs in the creative process of theatre. The aim of the Theatre Company is to remedy the existential dread the community faces due to the urban injustices they endure.
The thesis of this project is to provide a creative outlet to the Izbit Awlad Allam residents through a theatre company that harnesses the collaborative powers of theatre using polyvalency. The concept approach for creating polyvalent architecture is the allocation of gaps of uncertainty that are placed where activity overlaps are anticipated. This approach is directly borrowed from Cedric Price and Joan Littlewoods’ 1962 proposal for a cultural centre dubbed the Fun Palace.
