Rob Shehadie to stage Once Upon a Time in Lebanon at Enmore Theatre

Comedian Rob Shehadie vows his latest production takes audiences on an emotional rollercoaster but will leave them filled with pride about their Lebanese heritage.

After two years of lockdown and almost a decade since staging productions that are odes to his Lebanese heritage, Rob Shehadie’s latest stage instalment, Once Upon a Time in Lebanon, at the Enmore Theatre is “long overdue”.

Once Upon a Time in Lebanon is a stage play with about “70 per cent comedy” but a storyline about the diaspora that touches on war-torn Lebanon in the 1980s, and recent tragedies to beset the nation, including the Beirut explosions to the financial crisis.

Fast forward to 2022 and the Lebanese-Aussie younger generation is put in the spotlight.

“Now there’s the situation of the new generation losing their identity of the old country and not being so attached to it, like, say we were,’’ Shehadie, 45, said.

“And they do — they have an identity crisis. If they’re in Australia they’re known as Lebs and if they go to Lebanon they’re known as Aussies, so obviously there’s a lot of comedy but there’s a lot of emotional moments, which will get the audience crying.’’

The play features his mother Marie, who also starred in From Lebanon with Love almost 20 years ago and Jon-Bernard Kairouz, who became a TikTok star in lockdown when accurately predicting Covid figures.

Rob Shehadie’s latest production blends humour with serious topics. Picture: Monique Harmer

He also teams up with mates and funnymen Tahir Bilgic and Anthony Salame for the show which is mostly in English but features some Arabic.

The stage play follows stage show Two and a Half Lebs in 2014 and Here Come the Habibs in 2016, all which Shehadie delivers not just to flex his comic muscle but as an ode to his ancestry.

“I’ve always just been proud of my heritage and from a young age I’ve always been so passionate and I loved that I could do this show, that I could showcase some songs that I loved as a kid, I just love that it makes me proud, that I can see a theatre filled with all kinds and all laughing together,’’ he said.

“It’s a really amazing feeling. You look out to the audience and we can all sit there together and laugh, and also cry.

“It’s all about feeling proud. The Italians will go and watch Joe (Avati) and they feel proud, the Greeks would watch (Nick) Giannopoulos and George Kapiniaris and Effie (Stephanidis, Mary Coustas’ character in Acropolis Now) and they felt proud.’’

Rob Shehadie with his mum Marie and dad Elie in 2017, at the Oatlands home where he was raised.

Once Upon a Time in Lebanon’s opening show on October 23, and two other shows this month, have sold out, but another has been slated for Saturday, December 3, giving multi generations a chance to spend time together.

“How often do families come together now and go out to a show? And that’s what we found out with the Habibs,’’ Shehadie said.

“They all sat down as a family and watched it on TV.

“That doesn’t happen anymore. It’s not like when we were growing up. We all sat and watched Acropolis Now and we laughed together.

“It’s very hard to get the bonding these days, because everyone’s distracted.’’

The tight-knit Lebanese community another chance for a “big social catch up” as they flock to the Enmore Theatre.

“Our biggest issue on the night is trying to get everyone in because they stand around, they chat, which is beautiful, but we’re going to have all together over 3200 people coming through at the theatre for two shows,’’ Shehadie said.

“Every show’s over 1600 so when you’ve got a double show Enmore Rd turns into Church St (Parramatta).

“We’ve been locked down for two years, let’s get out to the theatres, let’s have a good night out.’’

Tickets are $60.70.

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Originally published as Rob Shehadie to stage Once Upon a Time in Lebanon at Enmore Theatre