Khayaal Theatre

30/03/2026

🌙✨ Eid Week Storytelling Across Luton & Cambridge ✨🌙
We feel truly grateful to have edified, delighted and sparked the imaginations of primary and secondary pupils in Luton, alongside a wonderfully diverse, intergenerational community audience in Cambridge, during the week of Eid al-Fitr. 💫
Our journey began on Monday 23rd with two lively performances of Eid Stories at Oakwood Primary School, engaging both KS1 and KS2 pupils. We then visited Al-Hikmah School, Luton on Wednesday 25th, sharing stories with girls aged 11–16, before rounding off the week in Saffron Walden on Saturday 28th.
Across the week, we performed to over 400 people, sharing rich and captivating tales of wisdom, wonder and humour from Muslim heritage 🌍📖 — from , , , , and — exploring timeless character virtues including honesty, trustworthiness, generosity, providence, self-knowledge, authenticity, courage, light and community. 💛
💬 “My children absolutely loved the performance… they enjoyed the stories, alhamduliLlah!” – Parent
💬 “Thank you very much for your wonderful performance.” – Oakwood Primary School
💬 “The combination of wisdom, good humour and fun was a real winner with our girls.” – Teacher, Al-Hikmah School
A heartfelt thank you to all our host partners — old and new — at Oakwood, Al-Hikmah and Saffron Walden for such a warm and ebullient welcome. 🙏✨
These were Events 9–11 of 60 we’ll be delivering nationally this year, inshaa’Allah, as part of our Theatre-without-Walls project — supported by Khayaal Friends, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation and Amal. 🌍🎭✨

16/03/2026

✨ An Evening of Stories, Peace and Shared Humanity ✨
On Saturday evening (14 March), we had the privilege of sharing a special peace-themed collection of Multifaith Storiesfrom Hinduism, Christianity and Islam at the Al-Mahdi Institute’s annual Big Iftar in Birmingham. The event was presented in collaboration with the Universal Peace Federation and the Women’s Federation for World Peace, bringing together a wonderfully diverse, multifaith and intergenerational audience.

Our ancient and timeless stories from India, Georgia and Sudan captured imaginations and nourished hearts — with moments of laughter, reflection and even a few tears along the way. 🌍✨
From the Hindu Panchatantra of India, we shared the story of a courageous woman who steadies her village when hysteria and fear threaten to overwhelm it. Choosing wisdom over panic, she restores calm and reminds us how one clear-sighted soul can change the destiny of an entire community.

From Christian Georgia, we encountered a humble peasant summoned to interpret a queen’s troubling dreams. As uncertainty grips the kingdom, he discovers that true insight is not born of status or power, but of humility, patience and moral discernment — and that peace often lies hidden within the symbols of our trials.

Finally, from Sudanese Muslim heritage, a dignified servant gently disarms a king’s impulse to violence with love, wisdom… and a simple bowl of soup. 🍲 A powerful reminder that compassion can soften even the hardest of hearts.

A huge thank you to the AMI team for their warm generosity and wonderful hospitality. The iftar dinner — in support of the Clifton Road Food Bank — was delicious and perfectly sustaining for the long journey home. 🌙✨ Evenings like this remind us that stories, shared across traditions, can open hearts and bring communities closer together. ❤️

"Wonderful to see you again and the Khayaal theatre in Bham on Saturday. A beautiful event. I wanted to reach out and congratulate you on this excellent work ..." – Audience Member

"Thank you so much for your performance, it was very well received by all attendees and we received lots of positive feedback." –Al Mahdi Institute

This was Event 7 of 60 we’ll be delivering nationally this year, God inshaa'Allah, as part of our Theatre-without-Walls project — supported by Khayaal Friends, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, King Charles III Charitable Foundation and Amal.

23/02/2026

🌙✨ An Evening of Hope at Open Iftar ✨🌙
Yesterday evening we had the good fortune of sharing our original adaptation of a tale of wisdom, wonder and wit from the great Persian poet Saadi Shirazi with hundreds of guests at the Ramadan Tent Project’s Open Iftar, hosted at Soho Theatre Walthamstow.
Our story, The Boy with the Smile of Hope, contributed to the evening’s theme of hope by offering gentle yet powerful reflections on challenges facing children today, while illuminating the serenity and strength that flow from hope in Divine Providence. 🌟
As has so often been the case over the years with this short yet profound Saadi tale, the audience responded with warmth and thoughtful engagement — connecting deeply with its aesthetics, drama, imagination and spirituality. 🎭💫
We were especially heartened to hear from the Open Iftar team that many guests had already shared their appreciation for the performance before we even left the venue. 🙏
Saadi Shirazi (c.1210–1292), born Abū-Muhammad Muṣlih al-Dīn bin ʿAbdallāh Shīrāzī in the cultured city of Shiraz, Iran stands among the most beloved Muslim literary voices of the Persian-speaking world. Poet, storyteller, moral philosopher and traveller, Saadi transformed everyday human experience into luminous prose and verse that still feels startlingly modern. Educated in Baghdad, then one of the great intellectual capitals of the Muslim world, Saadi embarked on decades of travel across Anatolia, the Levant, Arabia, Central Asia and possibly India. These journeys shaped his universal outlook: he wrote with equal ease about kings and beggars, saints and merchants, lovers and tyrants. His famous line, often displayed at the United Nations—“Human beings are members of a whole…”—captures his enduring message of shared humanity and moral responsibility.
بنی‌آدم (از گلستان سعدی)
بنی‌آدم اعضایِ یک پیکرند
که در آفرینش زِ یک گوهرند
چو عضوی به درد آورد روزگار
دگر عضوها را نماند قرار
تو کز محنتِ دیگران بی‌غمی
نشاید که نامت نهند آدمی
Our sincere thanks to the Open Iftar team — especially Ayra and Layla — and to the wonderful Soho Theatre Walthamstow team, particularly Lydia, Alex and Fin, for their support and hospitality.

This was Event 3 of 60 we will be delivering nationally this year, God willing, as part of our Theatre-without-Wallsproject, supported by Khayaal Friends, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and Garfield Weston Foundation and Amal. 🌍🎭

16/02/2026

🌍✨
Last Monday, 9 February, we had the pleasure of providing an artistic opening to The Faith & Belief Forum’s Interfaith Youth Summit on faith, youth and climate, hosted by the LSE Faith Centre at the London School of Economics.

Eleanor performed our much-loved interactive adaptation of a Swahili wisdom tale from East Africa, The Rainmaker. 🌧️

The Rainmaker
During a time of drought, children encounter a mysterious boy who can summon rain. When the sultan demands proof of his powers, the outcome depends on whether the people can stand together as one. A powerful story from the Swahili tradition about unity, responsibility and the fragile balance between people and nature.

It was both inspiring and heartening to hear the eloquence and passion with which speakers and delegates championed meaningful, holistic change — mindful of the needs of both present and future generations. 🌱

Our sincere thanks to Hussein Salahaldin and the FBF team for their warm invitation and welcome. As we left, we were especially encouraged to hear from participants how strongly the story resonated — highlighting the vital importance of 💧🤝🌿

This was Event 2 of 60 we’ll be delivering nationally this year, inshaa'Allah, as part of our Theatre-without-Walls project — supported by Khayaal Friends, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation and King Charles III Charitable Foundation. 🌍🎭✨

05/02/2026

On Tuesday, our Artistic Director, Luqman Ali had the pleasure and privilege to participate in this heartfelt and heartwarming conversation on "The Good Neighbour – Exploring Community and Belonging" in celebration of World Interfaith Harmony week at Simmons & Simmons in Bristol. Luqman spoke about the importance of beauty, heart dialogue, ethics, imagination, wisdom tales and safeguarding the vulnerable in our society and world especially our children and listened and learned so much from his fellow panellists on community, open-heartedness, hospitality, connection and so much more. Huge thanks to our hosts Laura Marinello, Manaal Sheikh and colleagues. Thanks also to Muneer Khan for the recommendation. That on the following day (today), Khayaal was able to take forward the blessings to share Multifaith Stories from with 600 pupils and teachers at William Austin Junior School in Luton was super serendipitous.
Photos: Gabriella Doyle

04/02/2026

🚀✨ We’re Off! Theatre-without-Walls 2026 Begins! ✨🚀
We launched our 2026 Theatre-without-Walls national tour today with an absolute blast at William Austin Junior School in our home town of Luton! 💛
Across four performances throughout the school day, we shared tales of wisdom, wonder and humour from Christianity, Sikhism and Islam with over 600 pupils and teachers. Years 3–6 engaged wholeheartedly as we explored a constellation of shared humanitarian values together. 🌟
The hall was alive with irrepressible laughter, cheeky banter and sparkling curiosity — creating an electric atmosphere from morning to afternoon! 😄⚡
In the moments we had to reflect afterwards, pupils identified powerful character virtues woven through the stories, echoing their own school values:
💫
💬 “I was at the edge of my seat. Fabulous storyteller!” – Teacher
💬 “Thank you for the fascinating and meaningful stories.” – Teacher
💬 “Eleanor has been truly inspirational in the way she captured our attention.” – Teacher
Our heartfelt thanks to Ann Compton and her wonderful colleagues for such a warm welcome and hospitality — our fourth successful visit since 2017. 🙏
Huge thanks also to our valued project partner, Luton Council of Faiths.
This was Event 1 of 60 we’ll be delivering nationally this year, God willing, as part of our Theatre-without-Wallsproject — supported by Khayaal Friends, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, King Charles III Charitable Foundation and SACRE Luton. 🌍🎭✨

24/01/2026

Khayaal is extending its unique drama academy offer in Luton combining drama, storytelling and Muslim heritage and cultures to girls and young women ages 11-16 starting with a taster session on 7th Feb at 2pm in collaboration with HEAL (Home Education Alliance Luton) inshaa'Allah. The female only session follows on from years of successful and impactful drama academy provision for children ages 3-5, 5-7 and 6-12 in Luton.

“My daughter really looks forward to the Khayaal storytelling sessions. It is very hard to find anything like this on offer and yet it is so valuable to children's development. As a teacher, we
recognise creativity is such an important quality for our youngsters to have. The ability to imagine and be creative are critical skills to help prepare children for the fast-changing world in which they will grow up in and which is likely to be so different to the one we as parents experienced. These engaging and fun sessions accomplish so much. My daughter enters into a beautiful and empowering world of stories where she is not simply a listener and observer but actively engages with and retells in her own way how the characters develop and interprets the ideas shared to make the story truly come alive. She has learnt how to become more articulate, widen her vocabulary and confident to express herself …” –Parent on Luton DA
For more info: http://www.healuton.com/events

09/01/2026

For the second year running, we brought our 60-event national year to a joyful close in Wimbledon, London, on the afternoon and evening of 30 December 2025. Families from across the capital joined us for a near-capacity performance featuring an extract from our much-loved Muslim Nativity, followed by tales of wisdom, wonder and humour from Muslim heritage.
🌍📖 Our stories travelled from and to the timeless wit of , and , delighting audiences of all ages. As so often happens in our storytelling, tales from different cultures gently converged around a shared parable — in this case, a humble bowl of soup 🍲 — deepening the reflective power of the stories and drawing connections across time and place.
We were truly fortunate to be joined by such a warm, culturally and generationally diverse audience, who engaged wholeheartedly — at turns thoughtful, tickled and intrigued. 😊💭✨
🎭 Following the performance, a fully booked drama workshop for children aged 6–12 invited young participants to explore the stories through creative play, improvisation and role-play. When asked to describe the experience in just one word, the children didn’t hesitate:
“Phenomenal.” “Spectacular.” “Awesome.” “Amazing.” 💫
A beautiful way to close the year — thank you to everyone who joined us. ❤️
" ...thank you for such an amazing performance and workshop last week, as always very much enjoyed by my children (and I)." –Parent
This was event 60 of 60 that we delivered nationally in 2025 as part of our Theatre-without-Walls project — generously supported by Khayaal Friends, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation and Amal. 🌍🎭

25/12/2025

We are delighted to make our popular Muslim Nativity available for free viewing on our YouTube channel until 2nd January 2026. Assalaamu '3alaa Isa ruuhi 'l-Lah 🤲

Read the most recent review of the performance here: https://saharallayali.substack.com/p/a-muslim-nativity?utm_source=%2Fsearch%2Fkhayaal&utm_medium=reader2

https://youtu.be/q3rGTC1plkg

Available here until 2nd Jan 2026After many years on the road touring our across the country over the Christmas holidays staging it in school...

13/12/2025

Venue: Wimbledon Scouts HQ 106 Cottenham Park Road London SW20 0SX
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Open to all | Family-friendly | Ages 6+
🌟 14:20–14:30 — Admissions
🎭 14:30–15:20 — Storytelling Theatre Performance
Step into a world of wisdom, wonder and humour as we bring to life a vibrant collection of tales from Muslim heritage and global folklore.
Enjoy an enchanting extract from our much-loved Muslim Nativity, illuminating the miraculous birth, life and mission of Prophet Isa (as)—told with warmth, beauty and reverence.
🎟 Family Ticket: £15 (up to 6 family members)

🎨 15:30–16:45 — Drama & Storytelling Workshop (Ages 6–12)
Let your children unleash their creativity!
In this guided, joyful drama and storytelling workshop.
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/muslim-nativity-heritage-stories-drama-workshop-tickets-1977029871566?aff=oddtdtcreator

Storytelling Theatre Performance & Launch of Drama Academy for Homeschooling Families