Love Omar

One hour until curtain up, and Omar Sharif isn’t happy. The show went well last night, but he feels aggrieved that he was upstaged by his fellow actor, again.  He puts on his makeup and longs for a little moment of peace.  But that isn't easy when he has to share a dressing room.  It’s more than Omar can endure – he is the star, isn't he?

And then comes Mag, the assistant director, although Omar has hardly noticed her before. He thinks she's disturbing him to give feedback on last night's performance, but she has more important things to discuss. And Daphne, his dresser, has been given the task to find out whether Omar has dyed his moustache again. There have been complaints. These are escalating.

Being a successful actor isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

The play is set backstage at Chichester Festival Theatre in 1983, when Omar actually starred in Terrance Rattigan's The Sleeping Prince.  Playwright Hannah Khalil has spoken to his real co-stars and former staff at the theatre to create a fictional piece inspired by this moment of theatre history.

Peppered with anecdotes from their interviews, as well as from Omar’s autobiography, the result is a comedy-drama that asks big questions about fame and power; and celebrates our love of theatre.

This show will reunite Hannah with director Chris White, following a successful collaboration on the sell-out, critically acclaimed ‘My English Persian Kitchen’ at the Traverse Theatre, Soho Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, Pavilion Dun Laoghaire, Lyric Belfast, and the James Tait Black nominated ‘Scenes from 68* Years’ at the Arcola, London.

“If there is an art to telling a story, playwright Hannah Khalil possesses it” The Stage on Hakawatis at Shakespeare's Globe

“Chris White’s direction is bold and wonderfully fluid...a remarkable piece of writing made outstanding by a dynamic production” Exeunt Magazine on Scenes from 68* Years