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‘Umm Kulthum and the Golden Era’ to Open in Saudi Arabia

Mona Khashoggi with the cast of the play “Umm Kulthum and the Golden Era” during rehearsals in London (Mona Khashoggi)
Mona Khashoggi with the cast of the play “Umm Kulthum and the Golden Era” during rehearsals in London (Mona Khashoggi)
    London - Abeer Mishkhas
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‘Umm Kulthum and the Golden Era’ to Open in Saudi Arabia

Mona Khashoggi with the cast of the play “Umm Kulthum and the Golden Era” during rehearsals in London (Mona Khashoggi)
Mona Khashoggi with the cast of the play “Umm Kulthum and the Golden Era” during rehearsals in London (Mona Khashoggi)

Three years after the musical “Umm Kulthum and the Golden Era” launched at London's Palladium theatre, producer Mona Khashoggi was able to achieve her dream of having the musical tribute performed in Saudi Arabia.

Ithra Theater in Dhahran will be showing Khashoggi’s play starting March 7 and until March 17.

Finding success in one of London’s most prestigious theaters had prompted Khashoggi to seek performing the musical in the Arab world, which happened in Dubai last year.

Asharq Al-Awsat interviewed Khashoggi about the new show and its protagonists.

She explained that one of the most important changes this time around is the character of the main singer and the performer playing Umm Kulthum in her adulthood. Before, the grownup Umm Kulthum was performed by singer Lubna Al-Kuntar.

“This time, the team is different. We have the Egyptian singer Agfan Afifi who will play the character of the adult Umm Kulthum,” Khashoggi told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Singer Jennifer Grout, an American Muslim who studied Quran recitation and classical Arabic, will play the role of singer Munira Al-Mahdia and perform some of Umm Kulthum's songs,” she added.

Actress Maha Khleifi will join the cast to play the role of Umm Kulthum’s mother.

Meanwhile, Jordanian actor Hani Dahshan will play the roles of the trio Muhammad Al-Qasabji, Dr. Al-Hafnawi, Umm Kulthum's husband, and the musician Muhammad Abdel-Wahhab.

Actor Walid Hammad will play the roles of Ahmed Rami and Sheikh Abu Al-Ela Muhammad.

“I titled the show (Umm Kulthum and the Golden Era) for an important reason,” said Khashoggi.

“Through it, I wanted to celebrate giants such as Muhammad al-Qasabji, Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab, and Tahia Carioca (..) as well as the personality of singer Munira al-Mahdia,” she added.

As for the songs that the musical presented before, they will remain the same. They consist of a selection of some of Umm Kulthum’s most famous songs.

Moreover, the storyline of the musical will not change. It follows the early childhood and humble beginnings of Umm Kulthum until she transformed herself into the Star of the Orient.

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Varieties

Orca that Carried her Dead Calf for Weeks in 2018 is Doing so Once Again

In this photo provided by NOAA Fisheries, the orca known as J35 (Tahlequah) carries the carcass of her dead calf in the waters of Puget Sound off West Seattle, Wash., on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (Candice Emmons/NOAA Fisheries via AP)
In this photo provided by NOAA Fisheries, the orca known as J35 (Tahlequah) carries the carcass of her dead calf in the waters of Puget Sound off West Seattle, Wash., on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (Candice Emmons/NOAA Fisheries via AP)
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Orca that Carried her Dead Calf for Weeks in 2018 is Doing so Once Again

In this photo provided by NOAA Fisheries, the orca known as J35 (Tahlequah) carries the carcass of her dead calf in the waters of Puget Sound off West Seattle, Wash., on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (Candice Emmons/NOAA Fisheries via AP)
In this photo provided by NOAA Fisheries, the orca known as J35 (Tahlequah) carries the carcass of her dead calf in the waters of Puget Sound off West Seattle, Wash., on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (Candice Emmons/NOAA Fisheries via AP)

An endangered Pacific Northwest orca that made global headlines in 2018 for carrying her dead calf for over two weeks is doing so once again following the death of her new calf, in another sign of grief over lost offspring, researchers said.
The mother orca, known as Tahlequah or J35, has been seen carrying the body of the deceased female calf since Wednesday, the Washington state-based Center for Whale Research said in a Facebook post.
“The entire team at the Center for Whale Research is deeply saddened by this news and we will continue to provide updates when we can,” The Associated Press quoted the post as saying.
In 2018, researchers observed J35 pushing her dead calf along for 17 days, propping it up for more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers). The calf had died shortly after it was born, and the mother and her closely knit pod of whales were seen taking turns carrying the dead body.
The research center said roughly two weeks ago that it had been made aware of the new calf. But on Christmas Eve, it said it was concerned about the calf's health based on its behavior and that of its mother.
By New Year’s Day, officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were able to confirm that J35 was carrying her calf’s dead body, said Brad Hanson, a research scientist with the federal agency.
Hanson, who was able to observe her behavior from a boat on Wednesday, said J35 was draping the dead calf across her snout or on top of her head, and that she appeared to dive for it when it sank from the surface. He said the calf was only alive for a "handful of days.”
“I think it’s fair to say that she is grieving or mourning,” Joe Gaydos, science director of SeaDoc at the University of California, Davis, said of J35. Similar behavior can also be seen in other socially cohesive animals with relatively long life spans, such as primates and dolphins, he added.
Calf mortality is high: Only about 1 in 5 orca pregnancies result in a calf that lives to its first birthday, according to the Center for Whale Research. The center's research director, Michael Weiss, estimated that only 50% of orca calves survive their first year.
The center described the death of J35's calf as particularly devastating — not only because she could have eventually grown to give birth and bolster the struggling population, but because J35 has now lost two out of four documented calves.
The population of southern resident killer whales — three pods of fish-eating orcas that frequent the waters between Washington state and British Columbia — has struggled for decades, with only 73 remaining. They must contend with a dearth of their preferred prey, Chinook salmon, as well as pollution and vessel noise, which hinders their hunting. Researchers have warned they are on the brink of extinction.
Other southern resident orcas have been observed carrying dead calves, Weiss said, “but certainly not for as long as J35 carried her calf in 2018.”
There was some good news for the J pod, however: another new calf, J62, was observed alive by officials and scientists.
Southern resident orcas are endangered, and distinct from other killer whales because they eat salmon rather than marine mammals. Individual whales are identified by unique markings or variations in their fin shapes, and each whale is given a number and name.
Traveling together in matrilineal groups, the orcas at times can be seen breaching around Puget Sound, even against the backdrop of the downtown Seattle skyline.