REVIEW: Al-Sirah Al-Hilaliyyah

Al-Sirah Al-Hilaliyyah ©️Khulood Basel

The legendary poem Al-Sirah Al-Hilaliyyah (The Epic of Bani Hilal) has been passed down from generation to generation since the 14th century. Once widespread across the Middle East, it is now only performed in Egypt and is at risk of extinction. Condensing this epic into a three-hour performance, Palestinian theatre company Khashabi Theatre approaches the story through movement, music and theatrical imagination.

The performance begins with six performers looking towards a large screen at the back of the stage. The projection includes transcriptions in both Arabic and English, immediately making the storytelling accessible to audiences from different linguistic backgrounds.

The stage design is remarkably simple, consisting mainly of flight cases and microphone stands. Yet, through the performers’ imagination, these ordinary objects are constantly transformed into something else. Almost anything can become a theatrical tool. The use of a horse, for example, becomes an important device for telling the story and explaining the relationships between different characters. The six performers move between multiple roles throughout the performance. They dance, tell stories and sing, but they also create a sense of intimacy with the audience, like friends sharing stories together: playful, silly and conversational.

Music plays a particularly important role in the production. The live musicians create much of the energy of the performance, with the drum kit on stage standing out as a particularly powerful element. The rhythm supports both the physicality of the performers and the momentum of the storytelling. The lighting design is similarly effective in its simplicity. Rather than relying on elaborate effects, it makes strong use of angles, movement and the performers’ positions on stage. In one particularly imaginative moment, performers use pieces of paper in front of the lights to create and suggest scenery.

Al-Sirah Al-Hilaliyyah is a unique theatrical experience. As writer and director Bashar Murkus suggests, audiences can approach the production in different ways: they can enjoy the music, the visual language or the story itself. Khashabi Theatre allows all three elements to exist alongside one another, offering audiences multiple ways into this vast and historic epic.

★★★★

For more information, please visit: https://www.eif.co.uk/events/al-sirah-al-hilaliyyah

Credits

Cast

Rana Baransi (Singer)
Maya Omaya Keesh
Rami Nakhleh
Adan Rabos
Misan Miso Samara
Atallah Tannous
Abed Zoabi (Singer)

Production Credits
Bashar Murkus and Khulood Basel - Khashabi Theatre
Writer & Director: Bashar Murkus
Dramaturg: Khulood Basel
Set Designer: Majdala Khoury
Composer & Musical Director: Habib Hanna
Music Production & Arrangements: Khalil EPI
Live Music Arrangements: Rami Nakhleh
Lighting Designer & Technical Director: Muaz Al Jubeh
Sound Manager: Moody Kablawi
Dabke Segment Choreography: Samaa Wakim
Puppet Maker: Vita Hleihil
Design Assistant & Stage Manager: Nancy Mkaabal
Producer & Tour Manager: Samera Kadry
Development & Distribution: Victor Leclère

Co-produced by Edinburgh International Festival, DE SINGEL Center - CARTA Festival, Cité internationale de la langue française, Théâtre des 13 vents, Espoo Theatre & Teatre Nacional de Catalunya.

Based on the Syrian (Ash-Shāmiyyah) version of the Bani Hilal epic, on the documentation of the researcher Abdel Rahman Al-Abnoudi, on the recordings of the two Upper Egyptian poets, Jaber Abu Hassan and Sayed Al-Dawi, and on the tales of our grandmothers.

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