Shubbak Festival brings two stirring theatre productions to The Lowry

As part of this year’s Shubbak Festival — a celebration of Arab art and creativity — The Lowry will host two special performances in the coming weeks.

First, on Fri 30 Jun, is Yasmeen Audisho Ghrawi: From the Daughter of a Dictator, a story of displacement, hope, sorrow, joy and resistance.

Described as a ‘manifesto for dreamers’, this one-person show explores the personal journey of migration from Baghdad to Beirut to Berlin to Britain and how Western perceptions of democracy may not be as they seem.

From the Daughter of a Dictator is a collage of fragmented images and anecdotes, converging into the body and voice of one person attempting to orient in a violently loud, crushing world.

On Sat 1 Jul, Mohamed Toukabri: The Power (of) the Fragile sees Mohamed invite his mother Latifa to join him on stage, where after being apart for several years, they find each other again in the theatre.

Billed as a ‘meeting of two worlds, two bodies, two minds’, the borders of both characters blur as their lives and dreams begin to merge. Latifa had always dreamt of being a dancer, while Mohamed made it his profession.

The Power (of) the Fragile is a tender portrait of a close relationship, using movement as a way of declaring our right to go wherever we desire.

Both shows are on sale now. Get tickets for From the Daughter of a Dictator here, and for The Power (of) the Fragile here.