In 2008, three years after Studio Emad Eddin opened its doors for various performing arts companies and artists in Cairo to rehearse, and develop their capacities, the first edition of the 2 B Continued laboratory and festival was held.

Nevine El Ibiary, the director of workshops at Studio Emad Eddin, conceived 2 B Continued after closely following the work of various artists and troupes at the studio. The idea was to challenge theatre directors, choreographers and designers by setting a production framework for them to work within, thus broadening the possibilities of artistic development and creativity.

Generally, theatre companies working at the studio receive no financial support from organisations in Egypt or the region as a whole; they mainly resort to collecting money from each other to produce their work. But the reality of this financial restriction does not in any way influence artistic choices or the artistic process; the majority of the performances produced at the studio are more then one hour long, have a dozen actors on stage, in addition to using elaborate sets.

Ultimately however, artists and their companies do not properly assess the means they have to create with, and consequently to not utilize them in the best possible way. Such assessment is not only essential to the success of any artistic work, but also to the development and learning processes of the artists.
At its inception in 2008, 2 B Continued was an annual festival, but is now held on a biennial basis due to financial constraints. Now, three to five selected companies are given strict parameters to work within. Each performance is limited to a thirty-minute time frame, only four performers are allowed on stage, and artists must work within a specific budget. The chosen directors, choreographers, stage managers, light, set, and costume designers are supervised from the beginning by established professionals, who act as their mentors and support them throughout the different stages of production, starting from the choice of script to the final performance. Additionally, the most outstanding participants in Studio Emad Eddin’s various technical workshops are selected to work alongside the chosen directors and choreographers on 2 B Continued’s productions, thereby providing these workshop participants the chance to partake in what is often their first professional theatrical experience.

By setting these guidelines, the festival allows young artists to focus more on their creative process, which hopefully leads to a significant improvement in the quality of productions as a whole.

Since 2008, 2 B Continued has supported the production of 25 performances; thirteen contemporary dance and twelve theatre, and has provided training and mentoring for over 300 young directors, choreographers, playwrights, dancers, set and stage designers, and all kinds of technicians. 2 B Continued’s best performances have gone on to tour in various local cities, as well as internationally in the Czech Republic, the United States, Canada, Holland and elsewhere.
2 B Continued is not just a festival, neither is it a mere production grant, nor a simple training laboratory; it is all of the above and more.