The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

This Thursday, July 7th, an open-mic event
will be held at Darb 17 18 in Fustat. Up on The Roof was created by British
artist Linda Cleary as a monthly open-stage night that gives both aspiring and
established artists the chance to perform and try out new material. The line-up
includes poetry, spoken word, stand-up comedy, narratives, music, script
reading, dance and theatre; the performances are usually the artists’ original
material.

Cleary was inspired to begin the event to provide more
opportunities to perform in Cairo.

‘As an artist myself, I felt I wanted more outlets for
performance, and I was also aware of the wealth of talent and emerging artists
who were not getting their work out to an audience,’ she told Cairo 360.

‘The roof works all ways; it provides a
platform to deliver work to an audience and it also allows everyone to enjoy
the diverse artistic work out there and network with each other. It’s also a
great night out.’

The event hosts mainly local artists, including well-known
talents, such as hip-hop artist Mohamed El Deeb and Anglo-Egyptian singer/song-writer Tamara Yousry.

Yousry is a regular at Up on The Roof, where she loves
performing.

‘I never sing more than two songs, but it gives me a
chance to enjoy sharing with people whatever songs I’ve been humming along to
in the house,’ she told Cairo 360. ‘It’s also a great place to experiment with
your creativity without being judged. I sang acapella one night; you’d never
get the chance to do this anywhere else, but it was so much fun.’

Yousry believes that Up on The Roof is an important
event, as there aren’t enough outlets for Cairenes to express their talents in.

‘Up on the Roof is the perfect answer for this,’ she
explained. ‘It’s also just a fun night with so many diverse and eclectic
people. How could this not be good?’

Up on the Roof provides the opportunity for emerging
artists to try out new material in a safe, welcoming environment. Amira Salah-Ahmed, the business editor of Daily News Egypt, attended the first event as an audience member
and then set herself a challenge to perform next time.

‘I’d never performed anything really; especially
nothing as personal as my own writing,’ she said. ‘So I challenged myself to do
it, and it was a big deal for me. I read my poetry at the second open stage, with
a lot of encouragement from Linda and support from friends, and got positive
feedback. So I’ve been part of it ever since.’

As the event has become more successful with the
numbers of attendees continually increasing, Up on the Roof has recently moved to
Darb 17 18. Cleary describes Darb 17 18 as ‘a fabulous place and one of the
truest and most supportive arts venues in Cairo.’

When asked how it feels to be the creator of such a
successful event, Cleary said: ‘The success is down to those that perform and
attend. Sure it takes a lot of
organizing and I sometimes wish I was performing more myself; there is often no
space in the line-up for me as I leave myself till last; but we all make the
event happen.’

So if you fancy yourself as a stand-up comic, want to
try out new material, or simply want to soak up the cultural ambience, head to
Darb 1718 on July 7th from 7:30PM. Spots for this month’s event are
fully booked and it’s essential to book your place early. Up on the Roof is
held on the first Thursday of every month. For more information check out the Up
on the Roof Facebook page or the Darb website.