Theater troupes in Egypt are facing a reckoning as covid-19 continues to make indoor gatherings risky, and partial restrictions on capacity mean that their audiences will remain limited. For those who have ended live performances (their raison d'etre), they have had to survive by turning online or making creative new partnerships with larger institutions.

El Warsha is one theater troupe that is also coping with scarce funding for the arts, which has put it in dire financial straits. The decades-old independent troupe, founded and led by Hassan El Geretly, is now staring down the possibility that it will have to put an end to its future performances, Ahram Online reports. Founded in 1987, the troupe has been home to prolific performers like Abla Kamel, Ahmed Kamal and Saied Ragab in the past and is credited with reviving interest in traditional stick performances, folk singing and classic musicals.

Maneuvering financial strife through bartering: Although funding has all but dried up for El Warsha, as financiers divert resources elsewhere, the troupe is for now making do with what Geretly describes as a form of bartering with creative services among other cultural institutions instead of funds.

Online workshops offer a means for survival: The Sitara Theater felt the burden of responsibility and took it upon themselves to shut down last July, despite the government gradually lifting lockdown measures at the time, Reuters reported. At the outset of the pandemic, the theater put its work on hold — and its actors put their costumes and props in storage — and then made the decision to remain shuttered, saying that it’s not “the safest option” to reopen, considering their work “mainly depends on gatherings” and often brings together young children in big numbers. Now, the theater offers online workshops and shows.

Some, however, are embracing the mantra of “the show must go on.” Among them is Cairo Show — a private Egyptian theater company — which kicked off the year with a musical comedy despite official figures indicating the second wave of covid-19 peaked in January, with the Health Ministry reporting 1,022 cases on 14 January (one week before the show).