Bank Al Qalaq 2023 (Bank of Anxiety)

by Tawfiq Al-Hakim

Malak Gabr Theater – Falaki Theater, Cairo
Fall 2023

Adapted by: Nour Coptan
Directed by: Dina Amin
Scenography: John Hoey
Costume Design: Nour Afifi

The plot follows two friends, Adham and Shaaban, who try to establish a bank that deals with the intangible currency of anxiety, as they deal with clients from all walks of Egyptian life and the contemporary pressures they each deal with. However, their clients begin to
mysteriously disappear after they get sent to Mounir Bek’s (their mysterious financial backer) office. Dr. Dina approached in May of this year to design her play for the Fall season. I got the script by August but it still was not fleshed out as it was going through rewrites to make it more fitting for a contemporary audience since the original script was written in 1967 would be too alienating for a modern audience despite discussing a very relevant topic. 
I attended the initial table read and was able to have a more fleshed-out image of the characters to begin my research. Dr. Dina as
a director prefers to see a wide array of images and visuals rather
than a set-in-stone sketch. This is why I chose to present a series of
research images rather than sketches.