We sat down for an exclusive interview with Hannah Khalil to discuss her new play ‘Love Omar’.
LOVE OMAR is at Theatro Technis from 7 May – 6 June. More information and tickets at Love Omar | Theatro Technis.
Love Omar places us backstage with Omar Sharif during a pivotal 1983 stage run—what drew you to that specific moment of theatre history as your starting point?
This was Omar Sharif’s only appearance on the UK stage and the man holds huge significance for anyone of my generation or older who has Arab heritage. He was the first Arab Hollywood film star and changed the way people viewed Arabs. The idea of him being in Chichester in 1983 feels so incongruous, so unlikely, that as soon as I found out about the event I had to know more and so my research and investigations began.
The play blends comedy, research and real testimony—how did you balance factual material with imaginative reconstruction in shaping the world of the dressing room?
Through my extensive interviews with people who were part of the original production of ‘The Sleeping Prince’ with Omar back in 1983, I unearthed a wealth of amazing anecdotes – all of which I knew needed to be in the play to add authenticity, texture and colour. Stories like the fact there was only one pair of underwear that Omar would agree to wear (apparently he didn’t like undies) so the costume team had a mad rush to get them washed and laundered for the next show! I also wanted to use the play as a vehicle to explore what it is to be mixed heritage in the UK and who our heroes are. That’s a theme that is relevant to me and to contemporary audiences, so there’s a – completely fictional – storyline in the play about that.
At its heart, the piece explores fame and ego in an intensely private space—what interested you about what happens to a “star” once the audience is no longer present?
I have no family connection to theatre at all but as soon as I started studying drama when I came back to the UK as a teenager I became obsessed with it. I really wanted to get backstage and understand how it all worked! My first job when I was 14 was as an usher at the Thorndike Theatre in Leatherhead and I used to watch the stars warm-up with fascination. I also loved having access to the parts of theatre the public never get to see… the grubbier, more tired backstage areas. That delight and interest has never left me.
Through Omar, Daphne and Mag, we see different kinds of labour that keep theatre running—how did you approach giving equal weight to those often unseen perspectives?
All three characters feel like they are in charge and in some ways they all are! I hope everyone in the audience will find something of themselves in at least one of the characters. We have three people of different generations and cultures coming together and understanding each other and themselves differently through this interaction they have together.
You’ve described the play as a “love letter to theatre”—what aspects of theatre-making felt most important to celebrate or interrogate?
As you’ve mentioned, the unseen labor, and the amount of work that goes on behind-the-scenes. That was absolutely something I wanted to celebrate.
Reuniting with director Chris White, how has your collaborative relationship evolved since ‘My English Persian Kitchen’ and shaped this new work?
Chris and I have worked together many times over the years – the first full production we did was ‘Plan D’ in 2010. It’s a huge privilege to get to work with someone who really understands your work and how it has developed over 16 years, you begin to have a short hand. In addition, trust is all important in the writer-director relationship. I know he will offer me fresh insights to my play and create a fun and safe environment for the actors and I to explore and discover the play. All this is bearing out in rehearsals; it’s proving a really exciting and fruitful process. I feel very lucky.