Betrayal, exile, forbidden love and a father who doesn't recognise his own son in battle.

Al-Sirah is a thousand-year-old epic packed full of drama. Before you watch it unfold on stage, unlock its key characters and turning points with this guide from Khashabi Theatre ⬇️

Experience Al-Sirah Al-Hilaliyyah from Wed 26 – Sat 29 Aug 2026 at Edinburgh International Festival.

Welcome, our honoured guests.

According to folk poets, reciting the complete Sira (Epic) of Bani Hilal requires no less than 150 hours. It has traditionally been narrated at weddings, special occasions and festivals over consecutive nights that may sometimes span up to ninety evenings. Audiences would listen to it repeatedly, despite their prior knowledge of most of its events. Indeed, the pleasure of this tale lies not only in following its plot but also in the style of its narration: in the elaboration and playfulness of details, in the atmosphere of companionship and the gathering of loved ones, and in its power to spark the imagination.

We present it to you in a performance lasting approximately three hours, conducted in Arabic and blending music, poetry, song, dance, puppetry, and visual arts. Throughout the show, you can follow a live translation of everything the actors say. We will also ensure that the core events of each stage are summarised. So even if you choose at certain moments not to follow the translation and instead immerse yourself in the actors' performances or your own imagination, you will always be able to follow the main threads of the story and connect its events.

To ensure a vivid and enjoyable viewing experience, we have prepared the following summary, which outlines the most significant events of the epic.  

Part I of the Epic

The saga opens with the lament of the knight Rizq bin Nayel, who reaches old age without an heir. A voice on a mountaintop sends him on a pilgrimage to Mecca, promising a wife who will bear him a great son.

Years later, Rizq marries Khadra, but they have only a daughter. Grief-stricken, Khadra joins the tribe's women in a ritual at a pond of birds, wishing for a child who shares the traits of the bird she chooses. She chooses a black bird. Months later, a generation of heroes is born on the same morning, each bearing the qualities of their mother's chosen bird. 

Among them is Salama, son of Khadra and Rizq – later known as Abu Zeid (throughout the show, Salama and Abu Zeid are the same person) – born with black skin, unlike his parents. Born the same day are his companion Abu al-Qumsan and his red mare Hamra; Hasan, son of King Sarhan, future leader of the tribe; and Diab bin Ghanem, a knight whose influence over the tribe's fate will grow. 

Accused of betrayal because of her son's colour, Khadra is exiled by Rizq. She finds refuge with King Fadel of the Bani Zahlan tribe, who takes Salama in and favours him above all others – having once dreamed that Abu Zeid would save the tribe. Salama grows up believing himself Fadel's son, but the favouritism breeds resentment; raised an outcast, he becomes a fierce warrior, killing first his teacher, then a fellow student.

These acts ignite a cycle of vengeance reaching the boy's relatives in the Bani Aqil tribe. When their knight Atwan al-Aqaili leads a retaliatory campaign, Abu Zeid defeats him, and the conflict widens – until his enemies, unaware he is one of them, seek help from Bani Hilal, Abu Zeid's own people. He defeats them too, forcing a humiliating truce.

King Sarhan then sends Diab to seek help from Rizq bin Nayel – Abu Zeid's father, who has lived alone in the mountains since casting out his wife and son. Rizq returns to defend his people, unknowingly facing his own son in battle – neither man aware of the other's identity – in one of the epic's most extraordinary confrontations.

This part of the epic ends with a long-overdue revelation: father and son are reconciled, Khadra's honour is restored, and Abu Zeid – once exiled by his own tribe for the colour of his skin – returns to Bani Hilal as a hero, a commander, and one of his people's leaders. 

Part II of the Epic

With Abu Zeid's return to Bani Hilal, the cycle of vengeance does not end – it continues for years, claiming the heroes of the first generation, among them Rizq bin Nayel, after whose death Abu Zeid becomes the tribe's military commander. King Sarhan dies and bequeaths rule to his son Hasan. Diab bin Ghanem, meanwhile, remains without rank or title – a resentment that will quietly build throughout this part of the epic.

During a truce, a restless Abu Zeid sets out hunting with his companion Abu al-Qumsan and meets a grieving woman whose son has been kidnapped. The ransom demanded is near-impossible: the mare of Jaber al-Aqili, leader of the enemy Bani Aqil tribe. Abu Zeid steals the horse alone to free the boy – but along the way meets Alia, daughter of his enemy Jaber, and the two are drawn into peril together. An unexpected love story blossoms between them, breaking the long cycle of vengeance and opening a door towards peace. 

But as a new chapter begins, drought strikes Bani Hilal. King Hasan sends Abu Zeid to find new land, and he sets out westward with three knights, including the King's son Mar'i, until they reach Tunisia. Word of their intentions precedes them, however: Al-Zanati Khalifa, King of Tunisia, has them arrested and sentenced to death.

Unknown to them, Saada, Al-Zanati Khalifa's daughter, has already fallen in love with Mar'i on the strength of her handmaiden's descriptions alone. When her father orders the group's execution, Saada betrays him to save Mar'i, persuading him to release Abu Zeid on the promise of ransom – while knowing he will return with an army instead. 

Abu Zeid does exactly that, leading Bani Hilal on a great westward march, conquering territory as they advance towards Tunisia to free their captives and claim the land. By the time they arrive, years of war have worn the tribe down and deepened old rifts – especially between King Hasan and Diab. Bani Hilal eventually conquers Tunisia, thanks chiefly to Diab, who kills Al-Zanati Khalifa in single combat. 

But ambition gets the better of him: he demands rule over Tunisia in Hasan's place, and covets Saada, Mar'i's beloved. When she rejects him, he kills her – a betrayal that will soon extend to King Hasan, and finally to Abu Zeid himself.