What would a poet's first love be like? What inspired the pen of Kahlil Gibran to write the profound truth it did? The answers to these questions might come to you in this new production, a musical adaptation of Gibran's 1912 classic novella, Broken Wings.

The year is 1923 and the place is New York City. An ageing Gibran narrates from his cold studio apartment. Weaving a tale with poetry and music, he transports us back across time and space, to a turn-of-the-century Beirut. An 18-year-old Gibran returns to the Middle East after 5 years in America, to rediscover his roots and complete his education. He falls deeply in love with Selma Karamy, the daughter of a family friend and wealthy businessman Farris Karamy. However, Selma soon comes under the scrutiny of Mansour Bey Galib, nephew of the powerful Bishop Bulos Galib, who has his eyes on the Karamy family fortune. Gibran and Selma must fight to reconcile their love for one another, whilst simultaneously navigating the rules, traditions and diktats that their society has laid down before them.

Broken Wings raises some of the key issues of the time and must seem quite topical, and yet its universal themes seem to resonate with audiences even today. With debates about the fight for gender equality, the freedom to love who we love, tradition versus modernity, wealth versus happiness, immigration and the importance of ‘home’, this story has remained relevant even to this day, a century after the story was written. This brand new adaptation as a musical retains the moving and powerful qualities of the poet's original writings, and adds new harmonious and musical elements that will tug at your heartstrings gently and achingly, much like Gibran himself would have wanted to.

Good for

Lovers of Musicals | Kahlil Gibran Fans