Show Review

As a farewell to the Ministry of Culture celebrating 2012 as ‘Manama, the Capital of Arab Culture’, Syrian dance troupe Inana performed a colourful musical production embodying the life of Julia Domna, an empress of the Roman empire, at the Cultural Hall, next to the Bahrain National Museum.

The curtain rose to quiet darkness with just a bright light on stage … this was broken by deafening music, an eruption of colour with energy and drama throughout… setting the pace for the next 75 minutes.

Julia Domna was introduced straight away through a heart-wrenching, dramatic dance act that was so powerful it reinforced her dominant and strong persona. Not only did this captivate the audience from the beginning, but it introduced the aftermath of the story before they were taken on the journey of her life. She was superb with her grace and flexibility but a supporting character who performed an Indian rendition during a wedding ceremony stole the show and left the audience cheering for more.

With 100 artists performing a mixture of dance numbers influenced by India, Africa, Greece, Arabia and Russia, viewers were enraptured by director Jehad Mufleh’s artistic representation of the tale. Although the production was fully in Arabic, there was no language barrier and the audience were still able to follow the story and clap along to the songs.

Julia Domna is the story of a powerful and progressive female leader. It reflects the beliefs and cultural traditions of the late 180s, the show evokes the commonplace worship of the sun god and Julia’s first meeting with her future husband, the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus. Their love blossoms in Homs and they are married amongst widespread joy and festivities. She accompanies her husband on successful military campaigns to safeguard the empire from invading armies before he is assassinated in an act of betrayal. It is up to Julia to balance her loss with her responsibilities.

The battle scenes were perfectly choreographed alongside the theatrical music with a contrast between the ‘barbarians’ and the royal empire. Septimius Severus was sporting a gold emblazoned regal dress which, accompanied by gracious ballet movements, clearly distinguished him from the enemy. The leader of the barbarian pack was dressed in a dirty white fur outfit and his movements were vicious, animalistic and vigorous. Personally, their dance routines were my favourite and really showed the monster deep within the rival.

Many scenes ended in freeze frames with dramatic lighting, really summing up what the scene was trying to portray and leaving viewers gasping at the beauty the actors held. It was like a work of art!

From acrobatics, singing to belly dancing, there were clear distinctions between settings with the stage transforming into the Roman Empire with a backdrop of pillars and a temple to a bright and blue heaven at the end, which was also reinforced by the numerous costume changes. Sequins, beads, feathers and horns all glistened with every turn and brought the story to life.

My only complaint is that the show could have ended 20 minutes earlier with the last segment having no relevance to the story and dragging what could have been a powerful finish.

However, when the production ended, with the same scene it started with, the pain and loss that the actors experienced shone through the audience and was transformed into happiness with the director coming on stage and doing a quick dance number before the curtains closed.

– May Al Mousawi