2019.03-04      
Houston, TX + Denver, CO + Boston, MA 

Ink on Paper + Adobe Photoshop + Illustrator

Poster artwork was created for We Live In Cairo, a politically charged musical examining the Egyptian revolution and its aftermath. Written by Daniel and Patrick Lazour and directed by Taibi Magar, the production premiered at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, running from May 14 to June 23. The visual approach was developed to reflect the scope and gravity of the story while avoiding the conventions typically associated with theatrical portraiture.

Rather than depicting individual protagonists, the poster focuses on the forces they confront. The narrative spans successive regimes that remain largely unseen within the play itself. Instead of personifying specific leaders, the design centers on what unites these periods of rule: the persistent machinery of repression. State security forces, as instruments of control rather than characters, become the implied antagonist, represented through the imagery and structure of the composition.

To balance this, the presence of the protagonists is conveyed indirectly, through the tools they use to resist. The poster assembles a collection of objects associated with peaceful protest and creative defiance: a camera, spray paint, cellphone, laptop, paint roller, guitar, and megaphone. These items function as stand-ins for the characters themselves, emphasizing action, communication, and expression over individual identity. Together, they form a composite image that mirrors both the narrative of the musical and the broader language of nonviolent resistance.

This object-based approach allows the poster to operate on multiple levels. On one hand, it reflects the specific tactics and cultural expressions that shaped the Egyptian uprising; on the other, it situates the story within a universal framework of protest against authoritarian power. The juxtaposition of tools of repression and tools of resistance underscores the asymmetry faced by the characters and highlights the ingenuity required to confront systemic violence without resorting to force.

Embedded within the image are Arabic words drawn from one of the central chants of the uprising: “bread, freedom, social justice.” Their inclusion anchors the design historically and linguistically, reinforcing the political stakes of the story while honoring the movement that inspired it. These words operate not as decorative text, but as a quiet structural element within the composition, rewarding closer inspection.

The resulting poster functions as a visual distillation of We Live In Cairo: a narrative about collective action, creativity under pressure, and the enduring struggle for dignity in the face of repression.

Variants of the poster were created for signage, postcards, t-shirts, and public advertisements, and the icons that make the tools of resistence were fashioned into pins.