Q&A with Yamina Bakiri about her play ‘The Cost of Eggs’
Q1/ What inspired you to write The Cost of Eggs? Did you start writing with a character or scenario in mind?
I have a particular interest in what is happening in the Arab world and have been following the uprising in Syria closely. I have friends who were personally affected by the events taking place in Syria. One friend was arrested and for a while no one knew what had happened to him. I was of course very upset by his disappearance (he eventually was released) and could not help thinking about his mother and the pain she must have been going through. I guess this is what I had in mind when I started writing The Cost of Eggs. Eventually the characters took over and decided for themselves.
Q2/ Why did you decide to name it ‘The Cost of Eggs’?
The eggs in this play symbolise life. I could have also named it “The Cost of Life”. What is the cost of a life in Syria nowadays? What do people have to go through and do to live or survive? I wrote The Cost of Eggs two years ago. If I had to rewrite it today, I would be more pessimistic.
Q3/ You are a neuroscientist, what made you start writing?
As a scientist, you are many things: you are curious, you have a good sense of observation, you are able to bring the pieces of the puzzle together, and you are a bit pedantic. If you add to that a broad imagination and some storytelling skills you definitely become a writer. But to start writing you need inspiration (and discipline). I am lucky enough to be surrounded with inspiring people whose stories I feel deserve to be told. I listen to them and, with a bit of artistic license, bring them back to life.