The music of Nadim Naaman and Dana Al Fardan’s Broken Wings remains strong, but the musical around it feels slightly disappointing at the Charing Cross Theatre
“I remember the beauty of home”
I was a big fan of the concept album of Nadim Naaman and Dana Al Fardan’s musical Broken Wings and sad to have missed its debut in the West End as a semi-staged concert due to being on holiday. So news of its arrival as a fully-fledged production at the Charing Cross Theatre was most welcome, especially considering how rare it is to see work from Middle Eastern writers or indeed about Middle Eastern subjects.
Which makes it a bit of a shame that Bronagh Lagan’s production doesn’t quite catch flight to match that soaring score. Based on Lebanese writer Khalil Gibran’s novel of the same name, Naaman’s book details an epic love story between Selma and Gibran in turn-of-the-century Beirut, narrated by a ruminative older version of Gibran. And since he is feeling ruminative, you can tell that it hasn’t necessarily been plain sailing. Continue reading “Review: Broken Wings, Charing Cross Theatre”
Rumi, based on a story about the 13th century philosopher and poet Rumi by Evren Sharma, follows Al Fardan and Naaman’s 2018 debut Broken Wings, which premiered in the West End at the Theatre Royal Haymarket before touring the Middle East.
