The UK’s largest celebration of performing arts and culture from the Arab world has returned to London, with a focus on art from Palestine.
The festival staged the UK’s largest Palestinian theatre production to date at the Southbank Centre at the weekend.
Part dance, part theatre, MILK is a play focused on disaster, telling the story of women who have lost their children, focusing on the moments before and after the tragic events. It is directed by Bashar Murkus and Khulood Basel of the Haifa-based Khashabi Ensemble.
And as with every edition of Shubbak festival – which takes place once every two years – uncertainty about whether the artists will make it to the UK is fuelled by growing visa restrictions. This year, the Khashabi Ensemble was held up due to closures at Ben Gurion Sirport after Houthi air strikes. Members ended up taking an alternative route through Jordan.
Artistic director Alia Alzougbi said the weight of the wars in Gaza and Sudan is hanging over this year's festival, which runs until mid-June. “This year was a particularly difficult one for us because we really have to ask ourselves what are festivals for, when a group of people is being erased, their heritage and culture is being erased,” she told The National.
She hopes to bridge the uncertainty by presenting a line of up of “artists as archivists, as dreamers who hold mirrors to the world as it is, and are so crucial to society. They can help us imagine how different the world would be. This festival stands squarely before our grief and rage and at the same time reflects on our hopes and dreams,” she said.
The festival opened on Friday with a fashion show showcasing clothing brands from Palestine, Lebanon and Syria at the Southbank Centre.
Designers selected by the fashion platform 3EIB include the Ramallah-based Nol Collective, Trashy Clothing and Nafs Space, and their collections were available in a pop-up at the centre’s foyer at the weekend.
The festival is no stranger to war and adversity, having launched in 2011, capturing the optimism generated by the Arab Spring, and subsequently serving as a platform for Syrian artists exiled by the ensuing civil war.
Al Zoghbi hopes to continue this legacy, and has incorporated three plays put on by the London-based PalArts Collective into its programme this year. Ahmed Masoud’s black comedy Application 39 imagines Gaza hosting the Olympics in the year 2048 and runs all of this week at Teatro Technis.
Other theatre productions include Koulounisation, by Franco-Algerian director and artist Salim Djaferi, which explores the language of colonisation that lingers in discussions of the Algerian war of Independence. The one-man performance at the Battersea Arts Centre is played by Djaferi and will bring together storytelling, theatre and visual arts.
The British-Lebanese DJ Saliah will present her first original live show, The Scene Between, at Village Underground as part of the festival’s collaboration with SXSW. The artist made her debut appearance at Glastonbury in 2022, and is known for blending old Arabic pop songs with contemporary dance music and hip-hop.
Beauty and identity will be explored through Talking Textures, a photography exhibition curated by Yasemin Hamdan at Coal Drops Yard from June 4 to 7. This will be followed by an Eid Souq organised by the festival, where skincare products such as traditional soaps, henna and kohl, as well as textiles and food, will be sold during the Eid weekend.
Two generations of artists will be presented through the works of Syrian-born painter and sculptor Issam Kourbaj, and Leicester-based painter Sarah Al Sarraj, whose recent collection explores Islamic astronomy and indigenous knowledge systems.
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More on Quran memorisation:
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
More on animal trafficking
More on Quran memorisation:
AGL AWARDS
Golden Ball - best Emirati player: Khalfan Mubarak (Al Jazira)
Golden Ball - best foreign player: Igor Coronado (Sharjah)
Golden Glove - best goalkeeper: Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah)
Best Coach - the leader: Abdulaziz Al Anbari (Sharjah)
Fans' Player of the Year: Driss Fetouhi (Dibba)
Golden Boy - best young player: Ali Saleh (Al Wasl)
Best Fans of the Year: Sharjah
Goal of the Year: Michael Ortega (Baniyas)
Cherry
Directed by: Joe and Anthony Russo
Starring: Tom Holland, Ciara Bravo
1/5
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
The five pillars of Islam
Financial considerations before buying a property
Buyers should try to pay as much in cash as possible for a property, limiting the mortgage value to as little as they can afford. This means they not only pay less in interest but their monthly costs are also reduced. Ideally, the monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 20 per cent of the purchaser’s total household income, says Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching.
“If it’s a rental property, plan for the property to have periods when it does not have a tenant. Ensure you have enough cash set aside to pay the mortgage and other costs during these periods, ideally at least six months,” she says.
Also, shop around for the best mortgage interest rate. Understand the terms and conditions, especially what happens after any introductory periods, Ms Glynn adds.
Using a good mortgage broker is worth the investment to obtain the best rate available for a buyer’s needs and circumstances. A good mortgage broker will help the buyer understand the terms and conditions of the mortgage and make the purchasing process efficient and easier.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Read more about the coronavirus
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The%20Last%20White%20Man
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Mohsin%20Hamid%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E192%20pages%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPublished%20by%3A%20Hamish%20Hamilton%20(UK)%2C%20Riverhead%20Books%20(US)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERelease%20date%3A%20out%20now%20in%20the%20US%2C%20August%2011%20(UK)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More on animal trafficking
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
The five pillars of Islam
If you go
The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road.
The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
