Musical theatre

Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole. Although musical theatre overlaps with other theatrical forms like opera and dance, it may be distinguished by the equal importance given to the music as compared with the dialogue, movement and other elements. Since the early 20th century, musical theatre stage works have generally been called, simply, musicals.

Mona Khashoggi

Reviving and Preserving Arab Culture

Mona Khashoggi is a theatre and film producer, writer and prominent patron of the Arts. She specialises in reviving cultural stories from the Middle East and bringing them to international audiences.

After completing a Masters Degree in Middle Eastern Studies at SOAS, University of London, Mona Khashoggi co-founded the Mansoojat Foundation, a UK registered charity established to revive and preserve the traditional costumes of Saudi Arabia.

Mona Khashoggi’s passion has always been to promote the art, culture and music of the Middle East. Mona produced and wrote the play Umm Kulthum & The Golden Era, which premiered with a unique and ambitious musical and theatrical performance at the London Palladium in March 2020. Mona is now planning to tour the production internationally and is also working on new ballet and musical productions as well as short films and documentaries.

Mona is a prominent patron of the Arts, sponsoring young Arab artists, and is a consultant to galleries and Art Fairs. She has served on the events committee of the English National Ballet, Save the Children, Barakat Trust, MAP (Medical Aid for Palestine) and the Madad Foundation. Mona sponsored Ayman Yosri’s ‘Flag Series’ book, supported the Delfina Foundation’s ‘Staging History’ programme and sponsors Delfina’s Middle Eastern Art students residency.

www.ummkulthum.show

www.mansoojat.org