By Jon Holliday, "Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Qu’ran" - Stage - London, UKWednesday, October 15, 2008
When a young Jewish boy is caught stealing by shop owner Monsieur Ibrahim, a life-changing spark is struck.
The unlikely cross-cultural friendship between young Moses and the old Sufi Muslim (“the only Arab in the street”) takes them from sixties Paris through many unexpected trials and confrontations to the climatic experience of the whirling dervishes of the Golden Crescent.
When a young Jewish boy is caught stealing by shop owner Monsieur Ibrahim, a life-changing spark is struck.
The unlikely cross-cultural friendship between young Moses and the old Sufi Muslim (“the only Arab in the street”) takes them from sixties Paris through many unexpected trials and confrontations to the climatic experience of the whirling dervishes of the Golden Crescent.
This two-hander widely-acclaimed play explores the complexities of adolescence coping with the confusing adult world, parental relationships, emerging sexuality, religious attitudes, the search for self-knowledge and a worthy code of morality to live by.
Jain Boon’s staging, full of warmth and good humour, tackles these issues with well-contrasted pace and the lightest of touches.
Gary Meredith as Ibrahim and a whole parade of intriguing characters, gives a quite remarkable performance that lingers in the memory, surely matched by the cheeky yet sensitive portrayal of Moses (and Brigitte Bardot) by Daniel Wallace. What a charming play so satisfyingly and unpatronisingly staged.
The simple mobile sets for the ever-changing scenes are designed by Georgina Miles with the music arranged by Lucy Rivers. Gwent Theatre, part of a Wales-wide network of eight Theatre in Education companies funded by the Arts Council of Wales and local authorities, is taking Monsieur Ibrahim on an eight-week tour of secondary schools and arts centres.
[For Production information, click on the title of this article].
Jain Boon’s staging, full of warmth and good humour, tackles these issues with well-contrasted pace and the lightest of touches.
Gary Meredith as Ibrahim and a whole parade of intriguing characters, gives a quite remarkable performance that lingers in the memory, surely matched by the cheeky yet sensitive portrayal of Moses (and Brigitte Bardot) by Daniel Wallace. What a charming play so satisfyingly and unpatronisingly staged.
The simple mobile sets for the ever-changing scenes are designed by Georgina Miles with the music arranged by Lucy Rivers. Gwent Theatre, part of a Wales-wide network of eight Theatre in Education companies funded by the Arts Council of Wales and local authorities, is taking Monsieur Ibrahim on an eight-week tour of secondary schools and arts centres.
[For Production information, click on the title of this article].
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment