Photo Nicolette Jackson-Pownall

Dear Lover / Dear Habibti

October 17, 2024, 7:00-8:30 PM
Performance, All Ages
Advocate & Gochis Galleries

1125 N McCadden Pl
Los Angeles, CA 90038

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Dear Lover / Dear Habibti is an interactive performance that shines a warm, intimate light on the legacy of Egyptian diva Umm Kulthum, the iconic Arab singer regarded as “the voice of Egypt.”

Thousands of miles away from our homelands, several generations removed from our ancestors, culturally dissonant and separate from our contemporaries, the question that bears repeating for us Arab Americans is where are our queer stories?

How much of our queer histories have we lost in the oceans and deserts between here and the region that we call the Arab world? How many queer lovers have lived and died and are now no longer remembered? How many beautiful queer Arab love languages are no longer spoken?

Dear Lover / Dear Habibti invites you on an evocative journey back to Egypt’s “Golden Age” through the life of the most famous and powerful woman in the Arab world. While Umm Kulthum’s queerness is only speculation, her impact on generations of queer Arab folks is undeniable.

Using the immersive technique of “process drama,” the audience is gently drawn into the narrative, stepping into roles that allow them to experience Umm Kulthum’s remarkable story firsthand.

Dear Lover/Dear Habibti will take place at the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Advocate & Gochis Galleries on Thursday, October 17, 2024, from 7-8:30 p.m.

This is more than a performance—it’s an invitation to connect, understand, and honor the vibrant life of “Egypt’s fourth pyramid.”

This program is suitable for all ages.

Participants

Ramy El-Etreby is a queer Arab theatre artist, writer, poet, and educator born and raised in Los Angeles. Ramy holds an MA in Applied Theatre from the CUNY School of Professional Studies and currently teaches in the Theatre Arts Department at CSULB.

This performance is organized by Ramy El-Etreby and is co-presented with the Los Angeles LGBT Center as part of Circa: Queer Histories Festival 2024, presented by One Institute.

  • The Los Angeles LGBT Center is a safe and welcoming place where the LGBTQ+ community finds help, hope, and support when it is needed the most.