West End stars Ramin Karimloo and Nadim Naaman will take the lead in the world premiere performances of Naaman and Dana Al Fardan’s Rumi: The Musical at the London Coliseum in November.
The actors who also feature on the concept album of the musical will bring their portrayals of Rumi and his mentor Tabrizi to the stage in a semi-staged concert version of Naaman and Al Fardan’s second stage musical on 23 and 24 November 2021.
Karimloo and Naaman will be reunited with Casey Al-Shaqsy and Soophia Foroughi who also appeared on the concept recording and a London Coliseum cast of performers of Middle Eastern, North African and South Asian heritage. The cast will be accompanied by a 25-piece orchestra conducted by Joe Davison.
Following on from Naaman and Al Fardan’s successful debut musical Broken Wings which was based on Lebanese-born writer Kahlil Gibran’s autobiographical poetic novel, Rumi: The Musical takes its inspiration from the life of another influential figure – 13th century Persian poet Rumi.
Featuring a book by Naaman with music and lyrics by Naaman and Al Fardan and based on a story by Evren Sharma, Rumi: The Musical focuses on the relationship between Rumi and his mentor Shams Tabrizi.
Commenting on the musical, Al Fardan said: “Writing Rumi felt like a blessing, during a period of so much upheaval in the world. The show’s emphasis is on looking within ourselves, and accessing the abundant sphere of creative force which shapes our conception of reality. It has been such a healing journey and I can’t wait to share our show with audiences at the London Coliseum.”
Naaman added: “We were so thrilled with the response to the release of the Rumi concept album earlier this year, and to its unique qualities as a piece of theatre. I am so grateful that we now have live performances to look forward to, particularly after the challenges we have all faced as an industry in the recent past. We are hugely grateful to everyone at English National Opera for welcoming Rumi onto the majestic stage of the London Coliseum.”
Produced by Ali Matar, Rumi will be directed by Bronagh Lagan, with choreography by Anjali Mehra and Middle Eastern musical supervision by Maias Alyamani. Casting and details of the full creative team will be announced soon.
Recorded during the pandemic in London and Doha and released on Broadway Records, the album features a cast of West End performers of Middle Eastern, North African and South Asian heritage accompanied by the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra.
Angela Thomas
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