"The Magic Recipe" is Lekaa Swidan's latest work, and the first of the "Off Season" series shown on the United Media Services channels.
Khaberni - Egyptian artist Lekaa Swidan announced her temporary facial paralysis (seventh nerve), during her live appearance in an episode of her program "Lekaa on Air," in a move she described as a desire to share a human side of her life with her audience, away from the stereotypical image of artists.
Lekaa Swidan said, "I would like to thank everyone who supported me and stood by me, and everyone who prayed for me. This is the first time I have appeared after a period of sickness, as I have suffered from the seventh nerve."
"I am speaking to you today while I am ill, because you share with me all the details of my life, in my success and my artistic works and my program, and you rejoice with me in every beautiful moment. I wanted to show you my human side without shame."
And she added that artists are not immune to human suffering, saying, "We are human, we have health and human problems that many cannot imagine. The prevailing image of artists is that they are always in perfect condition, but the truth is that there are moments of weakness and illness and despair we go through like any human."
Lekaa Swidan revealed the reason behind her seventh nerve injury, explaining that her health condition resulted from severe psychological stress, and said: "The disease that struck me was the result of a bad psychological state I went through. I used to suppress my emotions and always appear strong, and everyone around me saw me as strong. However, I faced defamation campaigns, and people I considered close friends were not as I expected. We live in a strange time full of pressures, and the real question is: How do we endure? And to what extent do we allow others to influence us?"
Notable Appearance
On the artistic front, Lekaa Swidan recently participated as a judge in the sixth edition of the "Teatro" festival for theater performances, organized by the General Administration of Cultural and Artistic Activity at Sohag University, alongside actor Sameh Hussein.
In it, she portrayed a liberated woman in her thoughts and attire, as a result of spending many years abroad. She is a mother to a daughter and the sister of a character portrayed by the artist Islam Jamal, with the events taking place within a residential complex that gathers most of the characters.
The series featured a lineup of stars including: Shereen Adel, Islam Jamal, Heidy Karam, Omar El-Shenawy, Basma Dawood, Rania Mansour, Caroline Azmi, Mohamed Abu Daoud, Hala Fakher, Salwa Othman, Salwa Mohamed Ali, and Emad Rashad.
The work was written by the "Story Factory" workshop under the supervision of Hany Sarhan, with writing supervision by Doaa Abdel Wahab, concept by May Said, screenplay and dialogue by Menna Fawzi, Eren Youssef, and May Said, and directed by Khairy Salem.
