A classic love story re-told by Amer Hlehel in a contemporary bilingual rendering with live music.

The actor and writer of five-star Taha (Shubbak 2017, Young Vic) transforms poet Qassim Haddad’s powerful rendering of the classic tale of Majnun Layla into a live experience.

The story of love, passion, eroticism and unfulfilled desire, often described as the Arab Romeo and Juliet, is radically reinterpreted with an original soundscore and accompaniment from Rihab Azar and Kareem Samara on electronic and acoustic oud.

Staying true to the sequence and emotional life of the poems, Hlehel moves between Arabic and English using Ferial Ghazoul and John Verlenden’s much-lauded translation. Shubbak co-commission, presented in partnership with the Bagri Foundation with additional support from Amal.