“The Middle East meets London life, a glimpse into London’s Arab diaspora.”

With a tag line like that, how can anyone associated with the Arab British Centre not be keen to rush down to World’s End Place in Chelsea for this fresh sounding piece of work! Presented by the Middle East Dramatic Arts Forum who are doing wonderful things for Arabic drama in the UK, written by Ben Ellis and directed by Rima Brihi came “The Lemon Tree of Kensington”.

The play starred Nabil Elouhabi of Eastenders fame and Sheena Bhattessa, more famously known for her roles in Bollywood movies. The pair shared great chemistry as Dalia and Reza, two young ambitious British Arabs.

I’ll let you in on a little secret with regards to the research and scripting phase of this play….Writer Ben Ellis was spotted making trips to the Arab British Centre when gathering materials, anecdotes and finding inspiration for his characters in “The Lemon Tree of Kensington” from our staff, trustees and members. It was great to not only be acknowledged in the programme but also to see how Ben had cleverly woven the stories and fond memories of our very own British Arabs and tied them into his brilliant script.

Chatting to members of the audience after the show, it seemed many of the younger British Arabs found it easy to relate to the emotions displayed by Reza and Dalia with regards to their lives in London as part of loud and proud Arab families!

The script captures the excitement of Dalia in terms of the opportunities available to her as a Londoner but also shows the protective bubble some young Arab girls grow up surrounded by in London, or in this context, the Royal Borough of Chelsea and Kensington.

The staging of the play was most unique. The space used was outside the Chelsea Theatre, off Kings Road, obviously suitable for the setting of the characters too. The stage was in the shape of a vibrant yellow tree with its protective branches extending over the audience’s heads to shelter them from the rain! Both performances were well attended, despite the weather, which proves just how thirsty us Londoners are for some original live theatre.