EVENING NEWS

Arabian night of magic

The BLACK TENTS OF ARABIA: Sadler’s Wells

Praise be to Allah! A show where a tantalising eastern promise is amply fulfilled.

The Beirut-based Caracalla Dance Company, which presents it, are the first Arab troupe de visit Britain.

And we have seen nothing quite like it before - a Bedouin extravaganza of the Arabian desert which stunningly evokes all the exotic allure of Sinbad and Scheherazade from 1001 Nights.

Formed four years ago by Abdel Halim Caracalla, with American choreographer Bert Simmel as artistic director and King Hussein of Jordan as patron, the company generate an improbable atmosphere of Hollywood (Desert Song) naivity with authentic middle eastern pageant.

What we see is not the customary hotch-potch of ethnic dances, but a dynamic drama about the destiny of a young Bedouin groom forced to marry a girl from an enemy tribe.

Spectacularly robed Arabs, resplendent with stuffed falcons and plywood swords and beautiful dark-eyed women (including a former Miss Lebanon), contribute to a show brimful of scented charm.

Must be seen at all costs.

Ian Woodward
15 September 1978