Khayaal in 2020
Month by Month
Eleanor Martin performs The Messenger at Lady Margaret Hall College, Oxford University
Photo: Lydia Howe
January
We began the year (Jan-Mar) working in the education (3 primary schools and a university) and community sectors delivering 5 live physical events in Luton, Essex, Oxford and Brent reaching 1000 people.
February
The highlight of this first quarter (usually the least busy of the year) was a sold-out performance of The Messenger, a new bespoke 50min theatrical performance on the humanitarian values reflected in the life of the Prophet Muhammad commissioned by the Oxford University Islamic Society held at Lady Margaret Hall College. The event was exceptional for the diversity of its audience in terms of cultures, ethnicities, nationalities, genders, ages and faiths.
March
As the UK went into lockdown, we debuted our first virtual storytelling extravaganza, ‘Ramadan Tales’. 2000 viewers joined us for the premiere on our YouTube channel. Eleanor Martin performed stories from Turkey and East Africa, inspiring reflection in the sacred month as well as entertainment and levity, with plenty of humour for the younger members of our audience.
April
‘Eid Stories’ made its debut on Khayaal’s YouTube channel. Filmed safely and socially distanced out in the woods, the virtual performance featured Mohammed Sesay and Eleanor Martin. Tales from Afghanistan and West Africa, as well as stories from Rumi and Mulla Nasruddin were enjoyed as part of lockdown Eid celebrations.
May
We released a short documentary style film on ‘Theatre Without Walls’. It’s a great introduction to our on-demand live and virtual theatre project serving national and international multi-sector partners with small scale, high quality and high impact wisdom (humanitarian values) tales from Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Christian and Sikh cultures.
The Tale of the Sands from Tunisia, the first short film in our ongoing ‘Healing Stories’ collection debuted on the Khayaal Instagram and YouTube channel. This has been our most popular Quarantine Tale so far, gaining 56,000 views in Tunisia, UK, USA and beyond.
July
We were interviewed by Amina Jindani from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for one of her MoOne Drama conversations on art and culture. Amina played the Parrot in our debut production of Attar's 'Conference of The Birds' at the Tabernacle in London. In the first act of the play, in order to set the scene for the Hoopoe's to galvanise Attar's prevaricating birds, each bird plays a modern-day archetypal character. One of the character development references for the role of the Parrot was that of a talk show host. Of course, we had no idea that 22 years later, our Parrot would be interviewing us over Zoom from Kuala Lumpur!
August
We began the month with ‘Hajj Stories’ premiering on our YouTube channel. 500 viewers were taken on an epic caravan voyage with Mansa Musa of Mali. Partly told by candlelight and surrounded by stunning silks as if within a Bedouin tent, Eleanor Martin and Mohammed Sesay wove together stories from Afghanistan, Syria and Iran.
As part of Theatre Without Walls, we shared some of our favourite Rumi tales via Zoom with the Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre, alongside Kristiane Backer.
Our children’s book, Riding a Donkey Backwards, written in collaboration with Sean Taylor, illustrated by Shirin Adl and published by Otter Barry Books, was selected Outstanding International Book by the United States Board on Books for Young People.
September
It was lovely to receive a plaudit from Caroline Dinenage, the Minister of State for Digital and Culture on the 22nd, alongside the superb Little Red Studio, as part of Rachel Hopkins MP's adjournment debate on arts and culture in Luton.
Riding a Donkey Backwards was selected by Reading Agency UK for the Silly Squad Book Collection as part of their Summer Reading Challenge.
We also produced content with MakerFutures for the University of Sheffield's Festival of the Mind. 'Adventures in Sustainable Play' packs and video content were fully subscribed.
Shot of our Zoom theatre props table for 1001 Nights and Other Stories for BPP University
October
Our first foray into the weird and wonderful world of Zoom theatre for BPP University’s fresher’s week was a success. Our storyteller and director, Eleanor Martin, found it to be a fascinating learning experience. Students watched a lively production of 'Abu Jasim's Boots' and 'The Doctor's Helper'.
November
The second story in our ongoing ‘Healing Stories’ collection is released. ‘Life and Death at the Well’, a story from the Hausa people of West Africa, is available now on our IGTV and YouTube channel. So far 33,000 have viewed the story in the UK, West Africa and beyond.
December
Our third offering from the 'Healing Stories' collection has been viewed over 35,000 times. Originating from Iraq, this psychological thriller tells the story of a young man who resorts to artifice in order to gain a menial position with an enigmatic physician of great repute from the House of Wisdom.
Khayaal’s Christmas storytelling offering presented an episodic account of the life of Jesus Christ based on traditional Islamic and Christian sources. The Nativity, commissioned by Norton Rose Fulbright, was enjoyed by 5,000 viewers across virtual events, on the 17th, 25th and 27th before a limited run on Khayaal's YouTube channel until Jan 6th.
We partnered with English Touring Opera contributing to a new opera film and education pack exploring the story of how Ibn Al-Haytham discovered how we see after having failed to tame The Nile in Egypt, for Key Stage 2 pupils in schools across the country.
We developed a 60-minute drama workshop revolving around Fariduddin Attar's Conference of the Birds, in partnership with Creation Theatre, that has so far benefitted 50 6-16 year-olds.
Miniature painting of a scene from the Nativity by Haydar Hatemi used with the permission of the artist for Jesus Christ, A Muslim Nativity
Directors: Luqman Ali, Eleanor Martin and Mohammed Sesay
Artists & Designers: Mohammed Isa Ali, Alia Alzougbi, John Habib Dunne, Thomas Gray, Lydia Howe, Eleanor Martin, Ruby Nicholls, Sukina Pilgrim, Yusef Salih, Mukhtar Sanders, Soraya Syed Sanders, Mohammed Sesay and Greta Zabulyte
Production Team: Kauthar Ali, Mohammed Isa Ali, Dr Rebecca Masterton and Bela Romer
Partners: Ecologgia, Luton; Grove Primary School, Romford; Oxford University Islamic Society; Islamia Primary School, Brent; Al-Sadiq & Al-Zahra Schools, Brent; BW Foundation/Salaam Centre, North Harrow; Next Wave Muslim Initiative, Washington DC USA; Islamic Circles, Manor Park, London; Radio Ramadan Milton Keynes; Mysadaqah, Harrow; MoOne Drama, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre, Kensington, London; The Reading Agency UK, London; Festival of the Mind, University of Sheffield; BPP University, London; Creation Theatre, Oxford; Birchfield Independent Girls School, Birmingham; Norton Rose Fulbright, London; and Luton Foodbank.
Funders: Amal; Aziz Foundation; Arts Council England; and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport