Seeing him perform is like stepping back at least 100 years in time. The unique dramatisation of Al Hakawati – the traditional art of storytelling popularised during the time of the Caliphs - has been brought to life in Dubai by an expert Syrian storyteller, Abu Shadi.
Abu Shadi, 63, whose full name is Rashid Al Halak, is one of the last professional Hakawatis in the Arab world, and he is trying to save his art from extinction.
Abu Shadi has been holding court nightly since 1990 at Al Nafura, a lively café in the eastern gate of Damascus's Umayyad Mosque. This Ramadan, he is visiting Dubai to attract new audiences with vivid stories of chivalry and humour.
Inside the Almaz By Momo restaurant in Harvey Nicholls' Mall of the Emirates branch, he sits on a Damascene platform, with a huge copper dish placed in front of him.
Facing his audience, book in one hand, sword in another, Abu Shadi recites from his old text and sometimes interjects jokes and commentary.
In Dubai, he tells short, self-contained excerpts from his stories – the full versions take a year and a half to tell.
The audience is enraptured and delighted as soon as he begins, saying: "The narrator said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen…'."
He holds the crowd fascinated with exaggerated inflections, outrageous acting and spontaneous non sequiturs. He punctuates his words with shouts and slightly dangerous slashes of a short sword.
The predominantly male audience hangs on to his every word, responding with whistles, stomps of approval and laughter.
He throws in a few words of English and German for the handful of expats present, but otherwise it's all in colloquial Arabic - with an occasional switch to the accent of a citizen of Aleppo, a Turk and so on to fit the character he is voicing.
Aware of the lost tradition he represents, every night he wears the traditional costume of Hakawati – sirwal (Sindbad-style trousers), hizam (sash), shirt, vest and tarboush (fez), the same costume worn by storytellers during the profession's peak at the time of the Ottoman Empire.
He said: "In Damascus, I have a big regular audience of various social and educational groups. I have been asked to perform in the foreign embassies in Damascus.
"In Syria, we are looking at the end of the long line of Hakawatis. I am worried this craft might disappear for good after me." This is what pushed him to encourage his son to follow in his footsteps.
Abu Shadi said professional Hakawatis were no more, and his art was a hobby, not a profession.
"The art of Hakawati is dying not only because of the advent of radio, television and the internet, but because of the poor income from this craft," he said.
Once upon a time...
What is Al Hakawati?
Al Hakawati is a Syrian term for poet, actor, comedian, historian and storyteller. Its root is hikayah, a fable or story, or haka, to tell a story. He sits on a stage facing his audience, sometimes reciting from memory, sometimes interjecting poems and jokes and sometimes reading the text. He always performs in coffee houses.
