Midnight in Cairo

1920s Cairo: singers were pressing hit records, new theatres and dramatic troupes were springing up, and cabarets were packed - a counterculture was on the rise. In bars, hash-dens and music halls, people of all classes and backgrounds came together as a passionate group of eccentrics, narcissists and idealists strove to entertain Egyptian society. Of these performers, Cairo's biggest stars were female, and they asserted themselves on the stage like never before. Two of the most famous troupes were run by women; Badia Masabni's dancehall became the hottest nightspot in town; Aziza Amir, a pioneer of Egyptian cinema, made her stage debut; and legendary singer Umm Kulthum first won her fame. It is these actresses, singers and dancers - who knew both the opportunities and prejudices that this world offered, and who helped to create its finest work - who best reveal this cosmopolitan and raucous city's secrets.

Midnight in Cairo tells the captivating story of Egypt's interwar nightlife and entertainment industry through the lives of its most pioneering women. Introducing a thrilling cast of characters, it reveals a world of revolutionary ideas and provocative art - one which laid the foundations of Arab popular culture today. It is a story of modern Cairo as we have never heard it before.