Play 'Once Upon a Time in Dubai' is a love letter to the city

Last December, when Stephane Boukris visited the Louvre in Paris, he was stunned to see a number of American tourists — “ladies from Oklahoma”. Sure, the Louvre and Paris, at large, are great draws for tourists around the world, but he had not seen such a robust group of people from America before. “When I asked them why they had come to Paris, they said they’d come because they wanted to experience the city after watching Emily in Paris on Netflix,” says Stephane.

That is the power of pop culture. It spotlights places, traditions, culture and lifestyles in a way that immortalises them for people. Stephane is hoping that his large scale musical production, Once Upon a Time in Dubai, does exactly that for the emirate. And while it will take some more time before it is staged, wknd. got a peek into all that we can expect from the musical that is all set to up the stakes for the entertainment industry in the region.

The musical revolves around Sophia, a prolific dancer who comes to Dubai to follow her dreams while promising her boyfriend, Will, that they will reunite soon. When Will shows up, he is heartbroken to see Sophia moving on. He turns to his friend Kym for help, who in turn, is all set to stage the most spectacular show the city has seen. The story unfolds amid the backdrop of Diwali as Sophia discovers how her boyfriend was manipulated into thinking he has been abandoned by her. To win him over, she joins Kym’s show.

As the producer of the show, Stephane is hopeful that Once Upon a Time in Dubai will set a new template for theatrical storytelling. He sees it as an act of giving back to a city he has come to call home. “I want this project to be a success internationally. We want to take it to London, Paris and all the major cities. We are even hoping for an adaptation on OTT. The dream is simple — that little girl in Arkansas, after watching Once Upon a Time in Dubai, should be able to ask her mum, ‘Is this true? Is Dubai really that great?’”

To aid that dream, Stephane has brought on board a stellar team that also comprises Johan Nus (director) who choreographed and directed shows like Singin’ in the Rain and Swan Lake, French-Algerian composer Nazim Khaled, who is tasked with bridging the gap between traditional Arabic music and contemporary sounds, and Gilles Papain (executive producer) who has worked with some of the top names in the business, like Celine Dion, Christian Louboutin, among others. This, combined with the fact that Stephane has previously tasted success with a musical on Robinhood that received the vote of confidence of European audiences, and you know that Once Upon a Time in Dubai will be a spectacle worth waiting for.

The question remains — how do you showcase the robustness of Dubai on stage? The sheer scale of diversity that it represents, the opportunities it affords us that make it a gateway to the Middle East at large. Stephane says that the backdrop (that of the festival of lights) and the cast of characters reflect the diversity. “The energy of the city is quite inspiring. Everyone is supposed to identify with characters because they represent the demographic composition of this city. We also wanted to showcase what happens to people, how their inner emotional worlds change, when they move to this city, what happens to their hopes and dreams,” says Stephane.

The inspiration for the show is Stephane’s own encounter with the city having spent much of the lockdown period here and finally making it his base last year. He knows that unlike Europe, musicals have not really found a feet here, but he’s determined to change that narrative. “I had heard it many times, but once you see the scale and quality of the production, you will know that Once Upon a Time in Dubai is here to lead the way. While it’s still early to divulge a lot of details, we have been auditioning and think we might find what we are looking here. Acting, dancing and singing — we want all three qualities to come together. The script has already been approved and the music has nearly been done.”

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