If you’re anything like this journalist, you’ll have found yourself getting nostalgic for old Arabic plays and quoting them among your family members and friends for years.
Now you can rewatch them endlessly.
Subscription streaming service Netflix has secured the rights to at least 10 classic Arabic plays, opening up the possibility of introducing the next generation — and, thanks to English subtitles, a foreign audience — to the hilarious antics many viewers grew up on.
Just in time for Eid, Netflix has introduced: ‘El Eyal Kebret’, ‘Al Motzawgoon’, ‘Bye Bye London’, ‘Raya w Skeina’, ‘Morahek Fl Khamseen’, ‘Shahid Ma Shafsh Haga’, ‘Sok Ala Banatak’, ‘Madraset Almoshagbien’ and ‘Elwas Sayed Elshagal’.
All the plays have been subtitled in English and will stream in 190 countries with an Arabic user interface. Meanwhile, ‘Al Motazawgoon’, ‘Raya w Skeina’, ‘Morahek Fl Khamseen’ and ‘Bye Bye London’ will be available for those with an English interface, with the rest of the plays to follow.
“We feel a great amount of pride and joy in bringing these Arabic plays to the service — stories that many of our members in the region have grown up watching. We want to give people the opportunity to not only reminisce and relive their childhood but allow them to create new memories with a new generation,” said Nuha Al Tayeb, director of licensing for MENA and Turkey at Netflix.
The new section of content, launched on May 21, is titled ‘Arabic Nostalgia’, and also features Arabic films such as ‘Lembi 8 Giga’.