Friday, June 8

Full cast announced for Nadim Naaman's Broken Wings Musical

Updated 20th July: Nikita Johal, who has just  played the lead role of Wendla in  "Spring Awakening" at Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre, is replacing Hiba Elchikhe (Princess Jasmine in the Australian production of Disney’s "Aladdin") as Selma. Hiba has withdrawn from the production for personal reasons.

The full cast is announced for the West End premiere of Broken Wings, a major new musical,  based on Lebanese-born poet Kahlil Gibran’s 1912 masterpiece. Broken Wings  will premiere as a semi-staged production with 9-piece orchestra, at the Theatre Royal Haymarket from August 1 - 4 (press night 2nd August)

New York City, 1923. An ageing Gibran narrates from his cold studio. Through poetry and music, he transports us back two decades and across continents, to turn-of-the-century Beirut. His eighteen-year-old self returns to The Middle East after five years in America, to complete his education and discover more of his heritage. He falls deeply in love with Selma Karamy, the daughter of family friend and hugely respected local businessman, Farris Karamy. However, Selma soon becomes betrothed to Mansour Bey Galib, nephew of the powerful Bishop Bulos Galib, who has one eye on the Karamy family fortune. Gibran and Selma fight to reconcile their love for one another, whilst navigating the rules, traditions and expectations that their society lays before them.

This moving new musical is written by Middle Eastern duo Nadim Naaman and Dana Al Fardan, and directed by Bronagh Lagan, with orchestrations by Joe Davison. What inspired the acclaimed author of The Prophet to write? What moved him to such profound philosophy in his later life? The events of Broken Wings highlight key issues of the time, yet the themes and debates raised remain increasingly relevant today, over a century later; the fight for gender equality, the freedom to love who we love, tradition versus modernity, wealth versus happiness, immigration and the importance of ‘home’.

Co-Writer Nadim Naaman leads the cast as the iconic Gibran, the show’s narrator. His co-stars are Hiba Elchikhe (Princess Jasmine in the Australian production of Disney’s Aladdin) as Selma Karamy and Rob Houchen (Marius in the West End production of Les Misérables and Titanic at Charing Cross Theatre) as Gibran’s teenage self.

Watch the video for 'Selma' sung by Rob Houchen

The rest of the cast features Adam Linstead (Old Deuteronomy in Cats at the London Palladium and International Tour) as Farris, Soophia Foroughi (Elena in Tiger Bay, Wales Millennium Centre and Lady of The Lake, Spamalot, English Theatre Frankfurt) as Mother, Nadeem Crowe (Doug/Mr.Spencer Williams in School of Rock at The Gillian Lynne Theatre and Sunset Boulevard, London Coliseum) as Karim, Irvine Iqbal (currently playing Sultan in the West End production of Disney’s Aladdin) as Bishop Bulos Galib and Sami Lamine (Laila:The Musical, West Yorkshire Playhouse and UK Tour) as Mansour Bey Galib  with Robert Hannouch (Godspell, UK Tour, Miracle on 34th Street, UK Tour), Nikita Johal (the lead role of Wendla in Spring Awakening, Hope Mill Theatre) and Lauren James Ray (Rebecca in Imagine This, Union Theatre and understudied and played both Glinda and Nessarose in the West End production of Wicked) as ensemble.



No comments:

Post a Comment