Abla Fahita, the popular comedy puppet who is as famous for her glamorous outfits and hair rollers as she is for her quips, will soon be making her first foray into the world of drama with a new Netflix series.
Titled Drama Queen, the first season of the show has recently wrapped production. The series "highlights her human side in an action-packed comedy drama", says Netflix.
What is Abla Fahita about?
Well, the plot is as bonkers as you’d expect from the puppet diva, but with a more heartfelt twist. After being implicated in a crime, Abla Fahita goes on the run. She is forced to separate from her children, Caro and Boudi, and is shunned by society. The series follows her efforts to clear her name and return to her children.
The show will retain many of the qualities of the original, Abla Fahita: Live from the Duplex. So while we'll be seeing a new and more serious side to the puppet, there will also be plenty of the jagged humour that has made her such a divisive figure.
Who's going to be in the show?
It will, of course, feature Abla Fahita, her daughter Caro and her son Boudi.
The show will also feature a number of Egyptian stars, including After The Battle actor Bassem Samra, Coming Forth By Day actress Donia Maher, and Judgement Day actor Osama Abdallah. The series is directed by Scarecrow filmmaker Khaled Marei.
Abla Fahita has been given credit as a scriptwriter for the show, with help from Muhammad Al Gamal, George Azmy, Dina Maher, Sarah Murad and Mahmoud Ezzat.
When will 'Drama Queen' air on Netflix?
The show, initially slated for release in 2020, has been rescheduled to come out in the first half of 2021.
Production began in August in various locations across Cairo, and Netflix says health and safety measures were imposed on set.
This is Abla Fahita's first opportunity to act in a scripted series after Abla Fahita: Live from the Duplex, which was broadcast on an Egyptian satellite channel in 2018, came to an end.
What does Abla Fahita have to say about it?
“Damn this globalisation! I barely had enough time for my own show and now they want me to do a series," the puppet jokingly commented in December 2019 after the show was first announced.
“I always say that Egyptian comedy is a great product for export after the Egyptian cotton. It’s obvious how the world today is a sad place in dire need of laughter. And nothing beats the Egyptian sense of humour to relieve the world of its misery.”
Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
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- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
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