Al-Sirah Al-Hilaliyyah, EIF theatre review: 'truly magnificent'

Al-Sirah Al-Hilaliyyahl | Jess Shurte

Al-Sirah Al-Hilaliyyah ★★★★★

Lyceum Theatre until 29 August

In his introduction to Al-Sirah Al-Hilaliyyah, writer and director Bashar Markus offers what sounds like a warm social invitation.

“As has happened for centuries,” he writes, “we’re inviting the audience to share this story with us…. it’s all about feeling welcomed and being together. And that’s what theatre is.”

And that’s exactly the atmosphere that the wonderful Khashabi Theatre of Haifa succeeds in creating, from the opening moments of their new Palestinian reimagining of this mighty 14th century Arabic poem, telling in epic form the story of a tribe called the Bani Hilal; about its great warrior hero Abu Zeid, and about the long and bloody migration westward - after their lands are devastated by drought - that finally leads to the tribe’s destruction.

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This new 2026 version by Bashar Markus, dramaturg Khulood Basel and the company has three qualities that fairly take the breath away. The first is the brilliant energy, beauty and generous spirit of the young performing company of six actors - also exquisite singers and brilliant dancers- and their astonishing onstage drummer/musician Rami Nakhleh.

The second is the sheer beauty of the staging, which uses low level light and simple painted glass panels to create fantastic and dramatic shadow effects on the back wall of the stage, along with relatively simple props including two glorious puppet horses.

And the third is the show’s rare quality as part of both ancient Arabic folklore, and 21st century Palestinian culture, with its superb ability to switch in seconds from mischievous, irreverent laughter to immense gravity, and back again, and is strong resistance to racism, and traditional male chauvinism.

The story told is a long and often downbeat one, of course, of how war constantly scars human history, of colonialism, cruelty, betrayal and environmental decline; and its dark ending in Tunisia perhaps plays out for a little too long.

This is, though, a huge and resonant story urgently and joyfully retold for our times, and backed by a truly magnificent musical score; and everyone who cares about the great conflicts of our time, and about a true human response to them, should rush to welcome, relish and celebrate it, during its short stay in Edinburgh. Joyce McMillan

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