Shabaab, Samar Haddad King / Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre

“Shabaab” isa long-form performance by Samar Haddad King that celebrates the intimacy, beauty, and tenderness of Arab male friendship. In a land where shared dreams and struggles are often overshadowed by structural obstacles and the systemic violence of occupation, it is the strength and gentleness of their bond that help these boys become men. Set to an original composition by Hisham Abu Jabal, with Arabic text featuring English subtitles and a soundscape by King, this duet traces a lifetime of friendship between Mohamed and Mahmoud. Their story unfolds in a space where memory and reality intertwine. The present moment, depicted live on stage, is refracted through a puppet designed by Sipho Ngxola, which represents the two men as children—as dreams of themselves, as the people they might have become under different circumstances.