‘Omar, what are you doing in Chichester?’: when Doctor Zhivago star Sharif came to Sussex | Theater

A a few years ago playwright Hannah Khalil was queuing for the loos at Chichester Festival Theatre when he saw Omar Sharif, dressed as a prince, on the wall. The picture was part of a gallery of stars that graced the Chichester stage. Khalil said: “I was like: ‘Omar, what are you doing in Chichester?’ “I really wanted to know more.”

You could call that moment a breakout: instantly, it set him on the path to his latest drama, Love Omar. When did the Egyptian actor visit Sussex and what did the locals make of him? Khalil’s older husband, Chris White, is from Chichester. He said: “I started asking his parents because they have been there for a long time. They remember him well coming to do this show.”

Sharif traveled to Chichester in 1983 to play the lead role in Terence Rattigan’s 1953 play The Sleeping Prince, which transferred to the West End. Chikondi Omar shows Sharif in his dressing room, preparing to go on stage, and Khalil shows him as a complicated, vain, seductive, insecure and beautiful man. His gambling habit was mentioned (from bridge to horse racing) as well as his “heartache” and his famous generosity.

It was the first case of celebrity singing, Khalil thought. The theater had just lost an agent (Martini) and needed money. “When he arrived, the huge parking lot outside the theater was full of people – excited fans, women – waiting for him.” There are also stories of bags of international fanmail and “complaints from the post office because they’re not used to dealing with so much”.

Much of the writing is authentic, says Khalil, who has spent years researching the Sussexes in Sharif’s life. “I really like going into museums and asking people questions,” he says. Debbie Arnold, Sharif’s friend, was one of them. “He told me that he was fine until the first night when no one knew that he blackened – or wore something – his mustache black. There are moments when he kisses and leaves and the audience just laughs. He didn’t know why but it was because he had a black mark on his face… There was an argument between them because they wanted him to stop hating, but he refused.”

Others interviewed by Khalil included John Gale, late artistic director of the theaterand John Challis (famous for his TV role as Boycie in Only Fools and Horses), who was married to Arnold at the time. Fun, player Isiah BennisonSharif’s costumer, Daphne, was one of Arnold’s neighbors. “She went to the opening night party where Omar kissed her hand and told her she was beautiful,” says Khalil who also discovered Frances Ruffelle in a small part in The Sleeping Prince, and “spent many happy hours in the green room learning to play backgammon with Omar”.

In spirit, Khalil points out, his play — directed by White — is a love letter to theater. Born in the UK to an Irish mother and a Palestinian father, Khalil grew up in Dubai, returning as a teenager to study. “I had never had the chance to see a theater until then but when I went it caught my attention. I am fascinated by everything related to theatre. This is one of the reasons why I got into theatre, because I love the idea of ​​art – wearing makeup and costumes, and how the back yard is like a round and beautiful house. I have always enjoyed interior work.

It is a tribute to Ronald Harwood’s A dresseralso, “retract the curtain that is being the star on the stage and leave”. But Khalil is doing personal research at the same time. “My mother came to the UK when she was 16 to study nursing. She came from a farm in rural Ireland and had never met a non-white person.” When the movie “Doctor Zhivago” was released, “she saw it many times and apparently fell in love with Omar Sharif”. Khalil’s parents met at a party. He used to work as a porter in a hotel and was kicked out of his slums in Bayswater for some reason and he was saying to people, ‘Is there anywhere you know I could be?’ My mother said ‘oh, I think the room upstairs from us is free’. More importantly, “he was very similar to Omar Sharif”, says Khalil.

In his play, a person of mixed heritage, Mag, is looking for someone who can help him find out who he is. He represents Khalil, to some extent. “The main part of this play is to be of mixed heritage in the UK, and how you respect your heritage. This is something that I struggle with. I am a Palestinian of Irish origin but I am always criticized: ‘No, you are not Arab or Palestinian, you cannot be Irish…’ “Love Omar, he points out, “he was able to become me in many ways.”