Contemporary dancer Alexandre Paulikevitch explores classical Arabic forms. (Credit: Lara Nohra, courtesy Metro al-Madina)
BEIRUT — Hisham Jaber launched a renaissance in Beirut cabaret in January 2012. Actually, he was hesitant to use the word “cabaret” at the time, and he and his collaborators had been developing the project for 12 years.Fourteen years on, Jaber and Metro al-Madina are still at it.Metro’s longest-running cabaret, "Hishik Bishik," is a comedic homage to early-20th-century Egyptian popular music. (Credit: Davina Maria, courtesy Metro al-Madina) Emerging amid the “stagnation” of the early 2010s, the troupe’s repertoire has reflected regional crises (the rise of the Islamic State, etc) and Lebanon’s accelerating slide into a neoliberal abyss (from the “You Stink” protests through the post-Oct. 17, 2019, uprising).Using music and comedy, Metro’s cabaret shows gaze back upon neglected corners of earlier eras, but the present is...
BEIRUT — Hisham Jaber launched a renaissance in Beirut cabaret in January 2012. Actually, he was hesitant to use the word “cabaret” at the time, and he and his collaborators had been developing the project for 12 years.Fourteen years on, Jaber and Metro al-Madina are still at it.Metro’s longest-running cabaret, "Hishik Bishik," is a comedic homage to early-20th-century Egyptian popular music. (Credit: Davina Maria, courtesy Metro al-Madina) Emerging amid the “stagnation” of the early 2010s, the troupe’s repertoire has reflected regional crises (the rise of the Islamic State, etc) and Lebanon’s accelerating slide into a neoliberal abyss (from the “You Stink” protests through the post-Oct. 17, 2019, uprising).Using music and comedy, Metro’s cabaret shows gaze back upon neglected corners of earlier eras, but...
LFI calls for parliamentary debate on Iran, Lebanon, Gaza