Róisín El Cherif’s performance at the Project Arts Centre’s Cube in Temple Bar, Dublin, was a star-studded event. The Cube, which seats around 65 people among its six rows, played host to a quaint scene set with an unoccupied microphone and four empty chairs, bathed in red lighting. Before Róisín El Cherif and her band made their appearance, a scene from Heiny Srour’s 1984 half-drama, half-documentary ‘Leila and the Wolves’ was screened. Paying tribute to Palestinian and Lebanese women, the film served as a reminder of the unsung female narratives in history.
When El Cherif entered the stage, she greeted a completely filled, completely silent room. Drawing her roots from her Irish-Palestinian background, El Cherif, from Galway, creates delicately tailored music fusing Irish, English, and Arabic influences. She depicted the entire repertoire for the night as a combination of Arabic hymns and fresh tunes. The opening act comprised a captivating Arabic anthem underscored by subtle bodhrán beats and El Cherif’s solo vocals.
When the band joined in, they came equipped with a cello, violin, harp, and DJ controller. The integration of varied musical traditions was seamless, depicting an impressively ambitious setlist within just an hour.
Interestingly, the recital was interspersed with visual elements, including clips from ‘Jenin, Jenin’, a 2002 documentary by Palestinian director Mohammad Bakri. The string quartet often merged their music into the closing score of a scene, giving way to the next song.
El Cherif demonstrated impeccable versatility in her singing, switching between clean, theatrical pop pitches and profound, raw expressions. This versatility was particularly evident in her rendition of Kate Bush’s ‘Running up That Hill’, which prepared the audience for her final and most distinguished performance – the enchantingly melancholic Siúil a Rúin.
It is evident to all that the gravity of the evening does not go unnoticed. El Cherif has long-standing recognition as a potent advocate for Palestine within Ireland. Unsurprisingly, this unabridged and experiential show is devoted to narrating the tales of others and vividly depicting the dual worlds she is familiar with. She anticipates the subsequent event to be a tenfold escalation of its predecessor.