I spoke to an excited director Dino Dimitriadis who has just begun rehearsals for James Elazzi’s play LADY TABOULI.

Elazzi’s  play is a family comedy drama. This particular family is Lebanese : mother Dana, daughter Josephine and son Danny, together with Danny and Josephine’s uncle Mark have come  together for baby Charbel’s christening. Danny has agreed to be the baby’s godfather.

“It’s a fascinating play, It looks at how some people will do anything to uphold the traditions of their religion/culture. It makes them feel good and strong. Other people feel that the traditions hold them back and strive to break from them and make their own path in the world. It’s this clash that is at the heart of the play.”, Dimitriadis said.

“The playwright is Lebanese and he has written a very authentic story. Elazzi  knows his characters intimately and charts the intergenerational conflict well.  

“There have been a lot of plays about the migrant experience. Most of them focus on the struggles of the new migrant, choosing to leave their old country behind them and starting out again in a new country with very little. Elazzi’s play looks at the next generation and how they are dealing with growing up with both the old and new cultures,.” Dimitriadis said

Dimitriadis has brought  together a good cast for the show. Antony Makhlouf is to play the lead character Danny. His sister Josphine will be played by Nisrine Amine. Deborah Galanos plays their domineering mother Dana. Mark, Danny and Josephine’s uncle is to be played by Johnny Nasser.

His creative team : production designer Jonathon Hindmarsh, lighting designer Benjamin Brookman and sound designer Benjamin Pierpoint will also hold him in goos stead.

James Elazzi’s LADY TABOULI is playing the Riverside Theatres, Parramatta, as part pf the Sydney Festival,  between Thursday 9th January (preview) and Saturday 18th January.  

https://riversideparramatta.com.au/NTofP/show/lady-tabouli/