Al Souq Al Oumoumi – Live Performance at Metro Al Madina

Roueida Ghali takes center stage in the groundbreaking musical-theater production Al Souq Al Oumoumi, part of Metro Al Madina’s renowned Thursday-night cabaret series in downtown Beirut.

The production—featuring a full ensemble—explores Beirut’s historical red-light district under French mandate. Through cabaret, physical theater, satire, and live music, the show uses metaphor and movement to interrogate themes of power, dignity, resilience, and collective memory.

With a cast of twelve performers and a live band, Al Souq Al Oumoumi has earned standing ovations and critical acclaim since its debut [oai_citation:0‡today.lorientlejour.com](https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1366117/al-souq-al-oumoumi-a-musical-escape-into-the-sex-lives-of-beiruts-past.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com).

Roueida Ghali’s contribution to the ensemble demonstrates her signature commitment to socially engaged theater, blending physical expression, musicality, and storytelling in one of Lebanon’s most impactful contemporary works.

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Selected Stage Performances

• Dystopia – Minwal Theatre Company (Lebtivity)
  A theatrical performance exploring contradictions in Lebanese society. Roueida Ghali was featured as a principal contributor.
• Mad oua Jazer – Gesture Theatre at Sunset (L’Orient-Le Jour)
  An open-air gesture-based theater piece by Studio 11 performed at the Beirut Sporting Club. Roueida Ghali participated in this sunset production.

Roueida files for web site:

Rehearsal: Roueida Ghali’s rehearsal performance with Studio 11 of “Kan Makan” at Masra el Madina. Part 1: 3min (Beirut, Lebanon)

Rehearsal: Roueida Ghali’s rehearsal performance with Studio 11 of “Kan Makan” at Masra el Madina. Part 2: 3min (Beirut, Lebanon)

Selected Stage Performances

• Dystopia – Minwal Theatre Company (Lebtivity)
  Event listing for a performance exploring societal contradictions, with Roueida Ghali among the core contributors.
• Manamat – Jean-Claude Boulos (Agenda Culturel)
  A dreamlike stage production dealing with duality and self, in which Roueida Ghali performed a principal role.
• Kan Ma Kan – Beirut Street Festival (L’Orient-Le Jour)
  A public performance reflecting on memory and place, staged at the Beirut Street Festival with Ghali in the ensemble.
• The Diary of a Mulberry Tree – Al Madina Theatre (Beiruting)
  A poetic and political piece centered on postwar Lebanon, co-created and performed by Roueida Ghali.

Dystopia (2018) was a politically-charged multimedia performance staged at Studio Zoukak, directed by Jad Hakawati and performed by the Manwal troupe. Roueida Ghali was a central performer in the piece, which drew on texts by Mahmoud Darwish and Riyad al-Saleh al-Hussein. The work explored authoritarianism, trauma, and personal memory through poetry, projection, and sound design.

This performance reflects Roueida’s continued commitment to blending literature, resistance, and stagecraft into cohesive and provocative theatrical experiences.

Further press coverage: An in-depth article in Al-Quds Al-Arabi (March 2018) explored the philosophical themes of Dystopia, highlighting the work’s engagement with cycles of violence, memory, and poetic resistance. Roueida Ghali’s performance was noted for its interpretive depth and integration of poetic texts that deconstruct identity and power. The production, supported by Zoukak Studio and visual artist Shafa Ghaddar, was praised for its use of multimedia, myth, and tragic archetypes to reflect the condition of individuals caught between fragmentation and the longing for wholeness.

In a reflective critique published in Al-Akhbar (March 2018), Dystopia was described as a “poetic reckoning with the absurdity of death and memory in the modern Arab condition.” Roueida Ghali’s performance was part of an ensemble that interwove fragments of Darwish, Riyad al-Saleh al-Hussein, and multimedia projections into a dreamlike yet brutal landscape. The piece was dedicated to the late oud player Imad Hashisho, anchoring the work in themes of loss and remembrance. Critics noted the production’s ability to shift between ritual, myth, and the intimacy of grief—rendering it both profoundly personal and universally resonant.

Writing in Al-Liwaa (April 2018), a critic described Dystopia as “a faithful image of our social and personal contradictions,” praising the layered interplay of memory, gender, and trauma. Roueida Ghali was singled out for her commanding physical presence and interpretive voice, which helped unify the show’s poetic, visual, and emotional layers. The performance’s all-female cast and the absence of male dancers was presented as a conscious artistic choice—questioning societal roles, collective memory, and the gendered burden of survival.

In December 2016, Roueida Ghali participated in the Arab Eden Festival for Child, Street, and Adult Theater held in Muscat, Oman. She performed in the play Al-Mazar (المزار), written by Imad Al-Shafei and directed by Jalal Jawad, as part of the festival’s adult theater competition. The production was staged at the Gulf College Theatre on December 7, and explored the psychological grip of rituals and belief systems on collective consciousness. The festival brought together artists and troupes from across the Arab world.

In September 2017, Roueida Ghali performed in “Mulberry Diaries” (يوميات توتة), a contemporary theatrical work written and directed by Nadine Abou Zaki. The piece, staged at Madina Theatre in Beirut, explored personal and collective memory through physical performance and poetic imagery. Roueida shared the stage with Ghinwa Khayyat, contributing to a multidisciplinary performance combining dance, monologue, and metaphor in a reflection on rootedness, transformation, and womanhood.

In October 2008, Roueida Ghali led the opening ceremony of the AL-JANA International Film Festival for Children and Youth, held at Madina Theatre in Beirut. The event, titled Children on the Margin Create Films, brought together young filmmakers from over 20 countries and focused on amplifying the voices of marginalized youth. Roueida’s performance opened the festival with a physical and poetic interpretation of the festival’s themes of memory, creativity, and resilience.

In November 2011, Roueida Ghali once again led the opening ceremony of the AL-JANA International Film Festival for Children and Youth at Madina Theatre, Beirut. Her performance, titled Still Rolling, marked the start of the festival’s sixth edition. This appearance followed her acclaimed contributions to earlier editions, reflecting her continued collaboration with the Arab Resource Center for Popular Arts and her commitment to youth-focused cultural programming.

In November 2011, Roueida Ghali directed the theater scene at the AL-JANA International Film Festival for Children and Youth. Held from November 24–26, the festival featured international participants and a wide range of activities, including film screenings, workshops, and live performances. Roueida’s directorial work brought together actors Sarah Zain, Mostapha Hijazi, and Ali Jawad in a stage performance that bridged creative expression with community engagement. This event further illustrates Roueida’s commitment to youth-centered, multidisciplinary art.

At the 2008 edition of the AL-JANA International Film Festival for Children and Youth, Roueida Ghali opened the program with a solo performance titled Still Rolling. The event, held at Madina Theatre in Beirut, focused on children’s creative expression and the power of movement and storytelling in marginalized communities. Her appearance helped launch a multi-day festival featuring youth filmmakers, international workshops, and artistic exchange across more than 15 countries.

Roueida Ghali’s Students, Lebanese University Theater Section. Part 1: 14 min (Beirut, Lebanon)

Roueida Ghali’s Students, Lebanese University Theater Section. Part 2: 42 min (Beirut, Lebanon)

Roueida Ghali’s Students, Lebanese University Theater Section. Part 3: 14 min (Beirut, Lebanon)

Roueida Ghali’s Students, Lebanese University Theater Section. Part 3: 43 min (Beirut, Lebanon)

MTV Television: Roueida Ghali participation as a theater/acting instructor in a local TV Program: Arab Casting: Part 1: 17 min (Beirut, Lebanon)

MTV Television: Roueida Ghali participation as a theater/acting instructor in a local TV Program: Arab Casting: Part 2: 27 min (Beirut, Lebanon)

TL Television: Roueida Ghali’s Performance in “Skandaria” at Masra el Madina. Part 1:  30 min (Beirut, Lebanon)

TL Television: Roueida Ghali’s Performance in “Skandaria” at Masra el Madina. Part 2:  47 min (Beirut, Lebanon)

TL Television: Roueida Ghali’s Performance in “Skandaria” at Masra el Madina. Part 3: 1 hour and 15 min (Beirut, Lebanon)

LBC Television: Roueida Ghali’s Performance in “Zones Interdites” at Masra el Madina. Part 1: 2 hours and 11 min (Beirut, Lebanon)

Roueida Ghali’s Performance in “Zones Interdites” at Masra el Madina. Part 2: 2 hours and 7 min (Beirut, Lebanon)

Roueida Ghali’s Performance in “Zones Interdites” at Masra el Madina. Part 3: 1 hour and 16 min (Beirut, Lebanon)

Future Television: Mix: Roueida Ghali’s Performance in a local TV Series and “Zones Interdites” at Masra el Madina. 2 hours and 9 min (Beirut, Lebanon)

Babel Theater presents…Roueida Ghali (Solo Performance) in a theatrical performance, Monodrama. Part 1: 1min clip (Beirut, Lebanon)

Babel Theater presents…Roueida Ghali (Solo Performance) in a theatrical performance, Monodrama. Part 2: 1min clip (Beirut, Lebanon)

Roueida Ghali’s Performance in “Kan Makan” 29 min (Tortosa, Spain)

Roueida Ghali’s Solo Performance in “Tranperancies”, Beirut, Lebanon. Part 1: 1 hour and 23 min 

Roueida Ghali’s Performance in “FFF” at “Zico House”. Part 1:  57 min (Beirut, Lebanon)

Roueida Ghali’s Performance with Studio 11 Theatrical Adaptation experts of a book by author Imaan Hmaydan. Part 1: 16 min (Alley, Lebanon)

Roueida Ghali’s Performance with Studio 11 Theatrical Adaptation experts of a book by author Imaan Hmaydan. Part 2: 17 min (Alley, Lebanon)

Roueida Ghali’s Performance with Studio 11 Theatrical Adaptation experts of a book by author Imaan Hmaydan. Part 3: 1 min (Alley, Lebanon)

Roueida Ghali’s Performance with Studio 11 Theatrical Adaptation experts of a book by author Imaan Hmaydan. Part 4: 11 min (Alley, Lebanon)

STUDIO 11

     Studio 11 is a Lebanese group for movement theatre. It was founded in 2001, and it was a result of meetings, trainings, and continuous work made by its 11 members.

The group aims at doing active and continuous researches in the field of dancing and body expressions, and performing arts. Through its work, the group aims at contributing in creating an identity for the post-war Lebanese youth. The group communicates with other researches, experiences and artistic schools in order to enrich cultural exchange, as well as to exchange experiences. 

From its work:

1-    “Improvisatory Evening“,   2002

2-    “Ebb or Flow” (a movement theatrical performance in open air on a Lebanese beach), Beirut, 2002.

3- Fffff…., a performance that brought together dancing and installation for the French artist Caroline Bozol, Beirut, 2002.

4- Participated in the dancing performance “Body, Flesh, Corps, Shape” with the Italian theatre group “ Teatri del Vento” in Shams Festival: Youth, Theatre, Cinema, with the collaboration of the French Cultural Center, Beirut, 2003.

5- “In Front of the Table”; performance in the Universal day of dancing, 2003.

6- “Once a Place”, participation in the Street Performance Festival, Beirut, 2003.

7- “Transparencies”, a performance that merged dancing, installations, and plastic art, in collaboration with the Lebanese artist and painter Tania Bakalian, TANBAK, Beirut, 2003.

8- A dancing performance inspired from the Arabic Novel “The Cardomon seed”, for the Saudi novelist Badria Albishr, 2004.

9- A theatrical readings and performance based on the novel “B like Beirut”, for the Lebanese novelist Iman Humaydan Younes, Elbourj Library, Beirut,  March 2004.

The text:

 Studio 11 is planning to present a performance based on theatrical readings from the Arab novel “Wild Mulberries”, for the Lebanese novelist Iman Humaydan Younes. The novel is about a young girl who lives during the first half of the 20^thCentury in Mount Lebanon, among a family who is still earning its living from elevating silk worms. A ruthless father who never knew love,  a middle aged aunt who is a victim of her brother who prevented her from marrying and from living her life, and a half- brother who could not fulfill his dreams of traveling to a new world. The girl is in the search of her disappeared mother whose destiny is never known. Through this search, the reader enters into the worlds of each member of the family, and into the society of the village as well as of Lebanon at that time. It is a search for the absent mother, but as well a search for the self.

Roueida Ghali’s Performance with Studio 11 Theatrical Adaptation experts of a book by author Imaan Hmaydan. Part 5: 14 sec (Alley, Lebanon)

Roueida Ghali’s Performance with Studio 11 Theatrical Adaptation experts of a book by author Imaan Hmaydan. Part 6: 2 min (Alley, Lebanon)

Roueida Ghali’s Performance with Studio 11 Theatrical Adaptation experts of a book by author Imaan Hmaydan. Part 7: 2 min (Alley, Lebanon)

Roueida Ghali’s Performance in “Kan Makan” in Downtown (Central district street festival) Beirut, Lebanon. Part 1:  min 

Filmed for Television: Roueida Ghali “Portrait of the Artist” (part of an in depth look at the Roueida’s career by a Syrian filmmaker for television. 5min

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10202079595731491&id=1235130575

Roueida Ghali’s Performance in “Makam al Jadi” at the Monot Theater.  Part 1: 1 Hour (Achrafiye, Lebanon)

Roueida Ghali’s Performance in “Makam al Jadi” at the Monot Theater.  Part 2: 1 min (Achrafiye, Lebanon)