The world premiere of Dana Al Fardan and Nadim Naaman's Rumi: The Musical is set to play the London Coliseum November 23 and 24. The concert staging arrives after the release of the full-length concept album on Broadway Records.
Based on the story by Evren Sharma, Rumi: The Musical tells the tale of the 13th century philosopher and poet and his mentor Shams Tabrizi.
The staging stars Tony nominee Ramin Karimloo as Shams Tabrizi, Naaman as Rumi, Casey Al-Shaqsy as Kimya, and Soophia Foroughi as Kara alongside Ahmed Hamad, Yazdan Qafouri, Johan Munir, and Benjamin Armstrong, with ensemble members Roshani Abbey, Amira Al Shanti, Eva-Theresa Chokarian, Maëva Feitelson, Sasha Ghoshal, Blythe Jandoo, Ediz Mahmut, Zara Naeem, Mark Samaras, and Aliza Vakil, creating a company comprised entirely of performers of Middle Eastern, North African, and South Asian heritage.
The artists will be backed by a 29-piece orchestra, conducted by orchestrator and arranger Joe Davison. Vocal arrangements are by Nikki Davison.
Directed by Bronagh Lagan with choreography by Anjali Mehra, the concert features musical direction and supervision by Joe and Nikki Davison and Middle Eastern musical supervision by Maias Alyamani, set and costume design by Gregor Donnelly, lighting design by Nic Farman, sound design by Simon Hendry, and video design by Matt Powell. Aran Cherkez is assistant director, Natalie Pound is assistant musical director, and Mark Samaras is assistant choreographer.
