The Discreet Charm of the Pillars of Society - Ahmed El Attar

An exploration of love, politics, and class through an interethnic relationship between a Syrian woman and a Swedish man

Acclaimed Egyptian theater maker Ahmed El Attar’s The Discreet Charm of the Pillars of Society follows the life of a Syrian woman who meets a Swedish man. The two fall in love, and their well-to-do families meet for the first time at the couple’s wedding. The families are divided by race, gender, and religion, but a common passion unites them: the pursuit of wealth. The intersections between love, politics, and class are exposed as the families unravel.

In its depiction of the ultra-wealthy, The Discreet Charm of the Pillars of Society breaks away from stereotypical representations of Syrians as refugees and instead reveals how global class relations can transcend race and other barriers, in pursuit of a mutual appetite for dominance. The play includes biting commentary with quick and sharp dialogue in Arabic, Swedish, and English, and begs the question: With a world in chaos, opportunities abound for a select few – but at what price?

With this play, El Attar has become the first Arab writer and director to be commissioned by Dramaten, Sweden National Theater, and one of the country’s most iconic cultural institutions since its establishment in 1788. The play builds on El Attar’s fascination with the family, evident with his trilogy consisting of Life is Beautiful or Waiting for My Uncle from America (2000), The Last Supper (2014), and Mama (2018). 

The play is performed in Arabic, Swedish and English and is also subtitled in Arabic and English.

Ahmed El Attar

Ahmed El Attar is an Egyptian independent theater director, playwright, and cultural manager. He is the founder and general manager of Orient Productions, a leading Cairo-based private production company that offers various services and hosts a number of diverse projects in the fields of entertainment, arts and culture. His work was most recently seen at The Arts Center with his Arabic language production of Every Brilliant Thing.

El Attar is also the founder and artistic director since 2011 of The Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF): Egypt’s largest international contemporary arts festival, Studio Emad Eddin (SEE) Foundation (since 2005), a unique project that provides training and rehearsal spaces for independent performing artists in Egypt, Maktabi (since 2018): Cairo’s only creative office spaces dedicated to the creative sector, The Arab Arts Focus (AAF-Since 2014); the only market for contemporary Arab performing arts, the Temple Independent Theater Company (since 1998), Egypt’s most international independent theater company, and Ala Fein (2022): The first and only bilingual Arabic – English mobile application that acts as a comprehensive art and culture guide.

His work in theater has been performed in the most prestigious theaters and festivals in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, the UAE, Sweden, Portugal, Germany, Belgium, Holland, France, Switzerland, Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, England, Scotland, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Russia, and the United States of America. His 2007 play, F**K Darwin or How I Have Learned to Love Socialism, received the Best Actor Award for the Egyptian actor and TV and film star Sayed Ragab at the 22nd edition of the Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre. In January 2010, El Attar received the prize for Best Theatre Text from the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development for his play Life Is Beautiful or Waiting for My Uncle from America. His latest productions include The Last Supper, which he wrote and directed, and which was performed in 2015 as part of the official selection of the sixty-ninth edition of Avignon Festival and at the forty-fourth edition of the Festival d’Automne in Paris. It toured internationally until 2019. Before the Revolution 2017 is a show aimed at bringing to the spectator the oppressive atmosphere prior to the Egyptian revolution of 2011. This 45-minute performance mixing between stage, writing, and musical rhythm was performed several times in Egypt and Europe and is currently still touring internationally. Mama was produced by the Festival D’Avignon and premiered there as part of the official selection of the 72nd edition of the festival in July 2018, making him the first Egyptian director to present his work twice at the official selection of the Festival d’Avignon. This performance is concerned with both the role and the impact of ‘the mother’ and women in general, especially in light of Egypt’s traditional family structures and its patriarchal society.

In May 2022, El Attar translated UK playwright Duncan Macmillan’s play Every Brilliant Thing to Arabic and directed a production of it, which premiered at the Rawabet Theater in Cairo. It also opened the first Sharjah performance program in November 2022 and was presented in Beirut, Lebanon and Amman, Jordan in April 2023 and at The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi in May 2024. Since then, it has been touring various cities in Egypt. In January 2023, El Attar premiered his latest work as writer and director: The Discreet Charm of the Pillars of Society, supported by Dramaten, the Swedish National Theater, and became the first Arab director to write and direct a play there. In December 2024, he directed The Writer on Honeymoon, a one act political comedy by the late Egyptian playwright Ali Salem with the Egyptian superstar Sayed Ragab. The play premiered as the closing performance of the third Sharjah performance program in the UAE in January 2025.

In 2008, El Attar was the first Arab to join the Clore leadership program (UK) through a Chevening scholar grant. In 2010, He joined the Chief executive program, community and culture – National Arts Strategy (USA). In November 2013, he received the Pioneers of Egypt award from Synergos Foundation in the United States. In 2013, he was the first Arab to receive the CEC Arts link international fellowship (USA). In 2018, El Attar was presented the title of a “Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters” by the French Ministry of Culture for his significant contributions to theater. In January 2022, El Attar joined the board of directors of the International Society for the performing arts (ISPA) becoming the first Egyptian and Arab to join the board of the largest performing arts network in the world. In January 2023, El Attar joined the board of directors of Highlight Arts in Scotland.