Baghdad-born writer/performer Kamaal Hussain is searching for stories from South Tyneside’s Arab communities to weave into his forthcoming production of Becoming Scheherazade, a show which incorporates some of the 1001 Arabian Night stories with real-life tales of Arab migration to Europe.
“The show is all about storytelling,” he said, “and is part of a larger project aiming to collect the stories of British Arabs, be they fourth generation or newly-arrived. Their voice is seldom heard, particularly in the arts world.
“The show is a bit of a romp, sometimes funny, sometimes poignant and weaves some of the Arabian Nights tales with people’s real stories. For instance, I use the tale of Sinbad the Sailor to explore the story of my own family’s migration. My father came here from Iraq on an academic scholarship—he met my mum at university and they married and moved to Baghdad where I was born. Just like Sinbad, we moved around a bit, having adventures on the way.
“I have a vague aim to collect 1,001 Arabian stories, but the shows here are the launch pad—they’re the first which will be based on stories passed on to me. The Arabian and Yemeni communities here are very much part of the fabric of the borough and have been here for some time—so I’m sure I’ll uncover lots of interesting and inspiring stories.”
Becoming Scheherazade is one of four pieces of theatre commissioned by the Cultural Spring to tour community venues in South Tyneside but is the only one which comes from a writer/performer who is not from the North East. Hussain, in fact, now lives and works in London.
“We took a group up to see Kamaal’s show in Edinburgh,” Cultural Spring Project Co-ordinator Emma Scarr explains, “and they came back raving about it.”
The show will be performed at the Customs House (Thursday, March 22 at 12:30PM), Jarrow Hall (Thursday, March 22 at 6:30PM), South Shields Football Club (Friday, March 23 at 6:30PM), Shields Musuem (Saturday, March 24 at 12:30PM) and Chuter Ede Community Association (Monday, March 26 at 6:30PM).
Middle-eastern mezze prepared by HIVE café will be served at all of the venues, apart from Shields Musuem, where curry and rice will be served.
Tickets for the shows, which will last no longer than two hours, including food and refreshments, can be bought at each venue or online through the Cultural Spring web site.