Khalil Gibran might be the most recognisable name among Arab poets. His work has reached millions in the East and millions in the West, and has a roster of fans that includes Elvis Presley, John Lennon and Johnny Cash, the last of whom recorded an entire audio book of Gibran’s work.
This month marked the 84th anniversary of the wordsmith’s death, but his memory remains alive on stage thanks to the Jordanian-British actor and writer Nadim Sawalha (You might recognise him from George Clooney’s Syriana).
Sawalha’s Gibran-inspired play, Rest Upon the Wind, returns to the UAE — it had its first run in 2012 — on April 14-15 at Al Jaheli Theatre in Abu Dhabi and on April 16-18 at Ductac in Dubai.
“If you see it twice, you will know there has been a difference. It’s a living thing. It’s growing and developing. As with every work of art, it’s a long time before you say, ‘That’s it’,” Sawalha told tabloid!.
The 79-year-old’s fascination with Gibran’s work began six decades ago, when a teacher advised him to look into the immigrant poets of New York. He began writing a story based on Gibran’s life around ten years ago, when he was hospitalised for a knee operation. The result is a play almost two hours long that highlights the plight of the Arab immigrant.
“In recent Arab history, there are hundreds of personalities — fascinating, beautiful personalities that I could have written about, but it just happened that I stumbled on Khalil by chance,” he said.
“I felt the life of the Arab immigrant should be celebrated, somehow, and I thought: I can’t think of anyone better than Khalil. Why? Because Khalil made a big name for himself, really, in the West, through the book of The Prophet.”
Born in 1883 in Lebanon, Gibran immigrated to the United States when he was 12. He struggled with poverty but created art that would touch the lives of many. His magnum opus was The Prophet, which has sold over 100 million copies since 1923.
“It has nothing to do with religion, really, although it’s called The Prophet,” said Sawalha. “But it was a human book. Human in its advice, almost. One friend advising the other how to behave in order to achieve a kind of equilibrium in life — some kind of happiness.”
While Sawalha included some passages in the play, he was careful to mix things up onstage with the six-person cast. As he put it: if you don’t entertain the audience, they’ll go for dinner instead.
“I make the story as simple for myself as possible, hoping that it will be as simple for my audiences as possible. I’m not here to complicate people’s lives — I’m here to amuse them by telling them a story.”
While Sawalha’s daughters, Julia (Absolutely Fabulous) and Nadia (EastEnders), have both made a name for themselves in the UK’s acting circuit, it’s his niece, Lara, who shines on stage in Rest Upon the Wind as Annie.
“She sings in Arabic, which is very important, to remind people that we are dealing with an Arab theme, and the life of an Arab man,” said Sawalha. “Even though it happened a hundred years ago, we have not forgotten that Gibran Khalil Gibran is basically Lebanese from Mount Lebanon. I wanted to keep that spirit alive.”
Tickets to Rest Upon the Wind are Dh175-250 in Abu Dhabi, and Dh140-Dh200 in Dubai, available through virginmegastore.me. All shows begin at 8pm. Call 050-7367480 for the Al Jaheli Theatre shows and 04-3414777 for the Ductac shows.
