The British theatre company H2 Productions is bringing a slice of old Italy to the UAE with Pinocchio, today through Saturday at Madinat Theatre, Souk Madinat Jumeirah. The production moves to Abu Dhabi's National Theatre for a five-day run of shows next month. For the first staging of the children's classic, four young performers from the Emirates will act alongside six actors from the UK.
The play's director, Graham Fawcett, has adapted the original story - written in 1883 by Carlo Collodi and made into an animated Disney film in 1940 - for audiences here. The goal was to make a traditionally dark fairy tale about a boy whose nose grows with every lie he tells more of a fun adventure, Fawcett said.
Taking a break from rehearsals, Fawcett - who also performs in the show as Gepetto, the creator of the wooden puppet, and Magnifico, the evil circus master - said audiences should expect surprises, a beautiful set and plenty of entertainment.
"It's a timeless story because it's one with a strong moral," he said. "This is a brand new production written for this audience and, because it has pantomime elements, will see audience participation, creating that extra magic.
"With children, sometimes pantomimes are their first venture into live shows, so we hope to inspire and encourage them to not just stay in and watch TV, but to come out and experience live magic," said Fawcett.
H2 Productions will also bring The Wizard of Oz to Madinat Theatre in December.
Tickets for the Dubai performances, running until Saturday at Madinat Theatre, Souk Madinat Jumeirah, are Dh140, www.madinattheatre.com
Tickets for the Abu Dhabi performances, running from October 14-19, cost from Dh95 to Dh495, www.skyevent.ae
melshoush@thenational.ae
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
