Founded in 2011, following Egypt’s January 25th Revolution, El-Pergola Puppet Theatre was established by the artist and lawyer Rania Refaat, along with a team of young, passionate Egyptians dedicated to change. El-Pergola focuses on social and political issues for both adults and children. From it emerged the El-Pergola Legal Theatre, which aims to raise legal awareness among everyday citizens.
El-Pergola Puppet Theatre is a traveling theater that has staged dozens of performances in marginalized communities, villages, bus stations, and prominent venues such as the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the historic Bayt Al-Sinnari, and the Goethe-Institut Cairo. In addition, it has conducted numerous workshops across Egypt’s governorates in partnership with community organizations like Cooperazione per lo Sviluppo dei Paesi Emergenti( COSPE) and the Goethe-Institut, while winning various grants and awards from donors like the British Council and Development Support Centre (DSC).
Since 2017, El-Pergola began its activities in Berlin, partnering with institutions like Schaubude Theater and Total Plural to present plays within projects aimed at fostering integration between refugees and Germans. Artist Rania Refaat also received the prestigious “Weltoffenes Berlin” grant from Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion, enabling her to conduct workshops with Arab refugees. In these workshops, Refaat empowers participants as they are adapting to new cultural and social environments with expressive skills included in El-Pergola’s artistic toolkit.