ABSTRACT
This chapter is intended to define broad trends in both the Irish and Egyptian theatrical contexts as well as provide necessary historical background to pave the way for a fruitful discussion of the selected texts. The chapter tackles the interplay between the literary and the political in both Ireland and Egypt, namely in tracing the rise of political and cultural nationalism. The chapter also highlights the most important developments in the theatre in both countries in relation to these movements which seemed to have guided its evolution, all the while putting the two geographies in comparison to one another in an attempt to delicately point to moments of dialogue between their histories and theatres without of course effacing the specificities of each.
