The Song of Roland: the Arabic version by WAEL SHAWKY
26 & 27 February 2020 | 8pm | Auditorium plaza
AED 150
Inspired by one of the oldest works of French literature La Chanson de Roland (the song of the Roland) and the French Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf’s 1983 book The Crusades through Arab Eyes, Egyptian artist Wael Shawky’s work blends the cultures and traditions of medieval Europe with those of the Arabian Gulf.
Set against a backdrop designed by Shawky, The Song of Roland features more than 20 singers and musicians performing in the classical Arabic ‘fidjeri’ style, which first developed more than 800 years amongst fishermen in the Arabian Gulf. Combining history and theatre with art, music and myth, the work interrogates stereotypes associated with the history of the Crusades and reflects it from an Arab perspective.
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Performance in Arabic with English and French subtitles.
Production by Kampnagel Hamburg, in co-production with Theater der Welt 2017, Sharjah Art Foundation, Holland Festival, Onassis Cultural Centre Athens, Theaterspektakel Zürich
Funded by the Federal Agency for Civic Education
Concept and stage design: Wael Shawky
Assistant stage designer: Giorgio Benotto
Technical director/lighting design: Sergio Pessanha
Light and sound technicians: Boris Heiland, Kay Engert
Musicians:
Abdulla Jawher Tarrar Jawher Meftah, Ahmed Juma Othman Ali Alhusain, Ahmed Saleh Mohamed Alshabaan, Ali Husain Ahmed Husain Altamimi, Anwar Ali Jasim Ahmed, Aman Khamis Juma Alashir Almarashda, Idrees Rabeea Idrees Bakheet, Isa Ali Mohamed Aljaffal, Esam Hassan Ali Khairi Buashwan,Khaled Ali Mohamed Aljaffal, Khaled Saad Salem Rashed, Khalifa Yusuf Saad Aljumairi Alhajri, Mohamed Ali Khamis Alshar Almarashda, Mohamed Anwar Ali Jasim Ahmed, Saad Ahmed Mohamed Aljaffal, Shawqi Abdulla Sabt Saud, Yaqoob Ali Mohamed Bujaffal, Yusuf Anwar Moosa Naser Ebrahim, Yusuf Hasan Yaqoob Yusuf, Yusuf Khamis Sbait Mubarak Alfarsi
Company management musicians: Hashem Alawi