A dream of Arab music: Celebrating Umm Kulthum’s enduring legacy
On the second day of March 2020, the Palladium Theatre in the West End, London, staged a show that attracted Arabic and English speakers alike. It was not just any old musical. It was based on the life of El Sit (‘The Lady’), Umm Kulthum, the legendary Egyptian singer and the Golden Era. A tribute to the famous Arab composers, musicians and poet of our time. The show combined a dialogue in…
On March 14, 2020, the Palladium Theatre in London's West End hosted a unique musical production celebrating the life of Umm Kulthum, the legendary Egyptian singer and the Golden Era of Arab music. This bilingual show combined an English dialogue with Arabic songs, blending performances by Umm Kulthum's granddaughter, Sanaa Nabil, and Syrian soprano, Lubana Al Quntar.
The sold-out show featured a mix of Arabic and English speakers and proved to be a massive success. Mona Khashoggi, the producer and writer of the play, expressed her joy at the event, stating that it was her dream to bring Umm Kulthum's legacy to a wider audience.
Growing up in Beirut and London, Khashoggi was constantly surrounded by Arabic music, including songs by iconic singers like Umm Kulthum, Muhammad Abdul Wahab, Fayruz, Sabah, Mohammed Abdo, and Talal Maddah. She believed that the Egyptian musicals on TV represented a golden era of refined and elegant music, dance, and film, with actors and actresses who were multi-talented.
Her aim was to revive that atmosphere for the younger generation and expose the Western audience to a part of Arab culture. The idea for the play came to Khashoggi after a conversation with American theatre director Robert Wilson, who suggested she produce a bilingual piece about classical Arabic music.
After struggling to find support for the production, Khashoggi decided to take on the project herself, writing the script, working with a dramaturge and Middle Eastern playwrights, and gaining valuable input from those who could provide insights into both Arabic and English audiences. The process was challenging as she had to balance the artistic vision with the needs of both cultures, but her background in speech and drama at school in London proved beneficial.
The bilingual nature of the production presented its own set of challenges, but Khashoggi's experience writing the play and her love for Arabic music inspired her to venture into novel writing. Her first novel, Jaffa Orange Groves, tells the story of a young girl in Palestine during the 1940s, drawing from her experiences living in Lebanon and interviewing various families.
She also produced a modern dance/ballet show, Sinbad the Sailor, and another family-friendly musical, incorporating Arabic music and traditional and contemporary dance styles.
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