Bashar Murkus and Khulood Basel revisit a narrative transmitted orally since the 14th century, sung and performed across the Arabian Peninsula by countless popular poets. The legendary epic of the Banu Hilal — often described as the Arab Iliad — is brought to life through seven exuberant and humorous performers who also ask, without nostalgia, what Arab theatre might have become without colonial influence.
The show follows the extraordinary life of Abū Zayd al-Hilālī, a boy exiled in childhood because of his skin colour, who rises over the centuries from displaced refugee to mythic figure. The ceremony blends live music, puppetry and Dabke dance choreography.
Runtime: 3 hours including a 20-minute interval. Performed in Arabic with French surtitles. Coproduction.