New Musical Broken Wings premiered at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 2018 in semi-staged concert format, Directed by Bronagh Lagan, Produced by Ali Matar and with Orchestrations and Musical Direction by Joe Davison. Following further development, the show now prepares for its first international production dates with a two-week London workshop, culminating in two public presentations at The Other Palace.
Based on the 1912 novel by the iconic Kahlil Gibran, Broken Wings is written by Nadim Naaman (The Phantom of The Opera, Sweeney Todd) and Dana Al Fardan, one of The Middle East’s foremost contemporary composers. This July, the show travels to the most fitting of venues – the prestigious Beiteddine Arts Festival in Lebanon, homeland to both Gibran himself and co-writer Nadim Naaman. Previous musicals at Beiteddine include Notre Dame de Paris, Cats and West Side Story, as well as performances by Elton John, Jose Carreras, Il Divo, Ute Lemper and Kiri Te Kanawa.
The Workshop cast includes returning cast members of Broken Wings (in alphabetical order): Nadeem Crowe, Soophia Foroughi, Nikita Johal, Sami Lamine, Nadim Naaman, Jake Stewart and Bethany Weaver. Joining the company are Joseph Claus (The Phantom of The Opera), Hanna Khogali (Rags), Benjamin Purkiss (Bat Out of Hell), Hannah Qureshi (Trinity Laban Graduate), Jeremy Secomb (Les Miserables) and Karl Seth (Bend it Like Beckham).
New York City, 1923. An ageing Kahlil Gibran narrates from his cold studio. Through poetry and music, he transports us back two decades to turn-of-the-century Beirut, where he falls deeply in love with Selma; the daughter of family friend and hugely respected local businessman, Farris Karamy. However, Selma soon becomes betrothed to Mansour, nephew of the powerful Bishop Bulos Galib, who has one eye on the Karamy’s fortune. Gibran and Selma fight to reconcile their love for one another, whilst navigating the traditions and expectations that society lays before them.
Broken Wings will be performed at The Other Palace on 28th April 2019 at 2pm and 6pm.
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