At 5:36 a.m. in Alexandria’s Lepsius Street, three strangers are trapped in a stalled elevator, three worlds that never meet in daylight, suddenly face to face with History. In the words of Michel Tournier, ‘Nothing isolates us more than our secrets,’ as the machine halts abruptly and the cold metallic chamber becomes a place of confinement where a slow story of loss and revelation unfolds.

The elevator becomes a symbol of a community losing the ground beneath its feet. Outside, the city shifts: loves vanish forever, treasures pass hands, houses empty, shops close. The Greek community of Egypt sees its past shrink into photographs, postcards, and small objects unable to contain the weight of loss.

5:36 Port Said, inspired by a family archive and a yellow notebook whose last page carries a haunting farewell: “In five days I will be in our Greece. I promise never to forget Alexandria, which welcomed the Greeks.”

Age recommendation: 16+

Duration: 60 mins

Price: £15

Languages: Egyptian Arabic, English, French, Greek

Countries: Egypt, England, Greece

Content warnings: This performance is intended for mature audiences and contains references to sex, strong language, and scenes of violence with sudden loud noises.

Playwright - Creation: Rafaela Martinez

Direction: Konstantinos Papantonis, Rafaela Martinez

Scenography: Konstantinos Papantonis

Dramaturgy: Christos Balagiannis

Starring: Maria Anagnostopoulou, Dunja Botic, Dijon Joseph

Live Music Performance: Dunja Botic

Voice Artist: Ziad Hisham

Artistic Collaborators: Dimitris Neveskiotis, Aiko Vyrini Katsoufi

Supporters: New York College, Theatriki Symmaxia

Rafaela Liona (Ραφαέλα Μαρτίνεζ) Maria Anagnostopoulou rafaella_martinez23 dunja_botic anagnoristi konstantinos_papantonis & dij_89 anagnoristi