Everything in Egypt is on hold

Egyptian actress Nashwa Mustafa In an exclusive interview with Arab Today, renowned Egyptian actress Nashwa Mustafa speaks about Arab conflict and the art of acting .
“Since the revolution in Egypt, I have been living in a state of anticipation,” the actress begins. “”I have noticed a continuous decline and things seem to be going from bad to worse. People feel stressed, depressed and somewhat hopeless because of the surrounding situation and lack of security”
Nashwa Mustafa continues: “Art is like any other industry right now – everything is on hold, be it tourism or the economy. However, everything works in a circle, if one industry flourishes, so do the others.”
The actress revealed to Arab Today that during her acting break, she ventured into other areas including culture and writing. “This period was like a mediation period for me,” Nashwa tells us. “I felt that I was not being fair to myself because I really enjoy reading and writing, and all of this had come to a stop when I launched my acting career as I became ever so busy.”
Nashwa disclosed that she was “honoured” to read work by Abdul Rahman al Sharkawy, Dr Abdul Kader Shoeib, Dr Mostafa Mahmoud, and the “marvellous” Salah Abdel Sabour. “I feel that these writing marvels have the ability to read the future, as many of these events were actually translated into reality” the starlet states.
Talking about her relationship with the world of theatre, Nashwa said: “For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to work in theatre but sadly, neither timing nor offers were right for me.” The actress is now in the midst of writing her own play, called Melodrama. “I thought, why not. I’m not currently shooting anything so it was just ideal for me to use my free time to do something else that I have a passion for,” she expresses.
Melodrama, Nashwa tells us, is a play about “purifying oneself of sins” which the actress is very excited to share with her audience. “I hope that my upcoming play is directed by the likes of Mohamed Amin or Khaled Youssef as I adore their work immensely,” Nashwa adds.
Arab Today also took the opportunity to ask the actress about her direction into journalism. “This came about when Dr Yasser Ayoub approached me to work for a magazine which he is chief editor for,” she explains. “I was up for the proposal as I love writing, and the fact that I was given the freedom to choose personalities to interview and speak to was an added incentive for me.”
Discussing more about media, Nashwa said: “I think Arab media is fabulous on all levels, be it social, cultural or entertainment.”
“Some of the shows I follow include Ibrahim Eissa, Amr Adeeb, Mahmoud Saad, and Lamis el Hadidi” Nashwa adds, “And I’m a big fan of Bassem Youssef. To me, he is not only a clever media professional, but also a great actor who understands the psychology of the audience very much.”