Hotter Than Egypt
by Yussef El Guindi

No matter where you live, the ups and downs of married life are universal.

For a middle-aged American couple traveling to Egypt on a business trip-slash-vacation, their relationship is put to the test when an old connection leads to new temptation.

As the eager tourists strive to connect with Egyptian culture in an authentic way, they end up getting more than they bargained for as long-dormant marital issues begin to percolate.

Drawing from the political, cultural, and religious realities of living in the region, this quick-witted dramedy set in the heat of Cairo pits loyalty against attraction as its characters grapple with the ever-changing struggle of staying committed to their partners.

"Electric!

Extraordinary scenes … an explosion waiting to detonate … In Yussef El Guindi's play, a decades-long marriage unravels in a single day, a single conversation, a single incident.

Yet a single incident is never just a single incident in El Guindi's sharp yet expansive writing.

A remark is a pressure point wired to a nerve center, a hairline fracture in eons of tectonic pressure that cracks all the way to the core."

—Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle

"Five Stars!

As an observer of intimate relationships, Guindi's insight and his ability to express it in remarkable dialogue is on a par with the likes of Harold Pinter or Edward Albee … El Guindi's beautifully written dialogue often presents insights of such exquisite precision and ambiguity that we are forced to laugh, often and loudly.

Excellence all the way around."

—Theatrestorm.com

"Riveting, sometimes unsettling, and continuously comic-filled.

Brilliantly crafted."

—TheatreEddys.com

"In Yussef El Guindi's dramatically taut play … the show is filled with laughs.

El Guindi's language is so dynamic and his structure so well crafted that the tension builds slowly and inexorably toward a conclusion that will be tragic — in one way or another — for all of these characters."

—TalkinBroadway.com

"Thought-provoking and hilarious."

—Broadway World

"There was never a dull moment in HOTTER THAN EGYPT.

It will have you laughing, sighing and questioning the characters' decisions … HOTTER THAN EGYPT is a profound yet comical analysis of the ethics of modern tourism, relationships, and morality."

—TeenTix.org