Saudis Cultivate Business Of Fun
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The lights dimmed and the conductor emerged to applause. Then the lights went up and the cast appeared on stage in historical Arab garb.
“My love, speak to me in a poem,” sang the female lead, opening an opera about racism, war and love. The subject matter was unusual, and the fact that the show was being staged, in the conservative capital of Saudi Arabia, was remarkable. The production of “Antar and Abla” was part of a push by the Saudi government to create — out of nothing — an entertainment sector for its 29 million people.
Saudi Arabia has long been known as one of the world’s most conservative places. Concerts and theater were largely banned, and even the notion of fun was frowned upon.
Now the kingdom is lightening up with comic book festivals, dance performances, concerts and monster truck rallies. The New Age music guru Yanni performed there in December, as did the American rapper Nelly (for an all-male audience). The Egyptian pop star Tamer Hosny is set to perform this month, although his fans will be barred from dancing and swaying. And international companies are signing deals to operate movie theaters across the country.
These are among the changes that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is showcasing as he courts American investors. Prince Mohammed, the brash, 32-year- old heir to the Saudi throne, is seeking to reorient the economy away from oil while making life more enjoyable for Saudis. Officials say entertainment will help on both fronts. The thinking is that Saudis who spend billions of dollars each year on entertainment abroad will instead stay in the kingdom to have fun, creating much-needed jobs. Most Saudis who have jobs work for the government.
The push is also useful politically. Since emerging three years ago, Prince Mohammed has rocketed to the top of the Saudi power structure while chipping away at traditions.
He has stripped the religious police of the power to arrest people, and silenced clerics who oppose his social reforms. He also led a purge of princes and prominent businessmen.
Prince Mohammed has also courted youth as a new constituency to support his programs. About twothirds of Saudis are under 30 and many have endorsed the changes.
“I love him,” said Ibtihal Shogair, 25, who was with a friend at a food fair. “He came and he was a young man who thought more like us.”
A few years ago, there was little for women their age to do on the weekends, said Ms. Shogair and her friend. When they did go out, the religious police hassled them though both women dressed modestly and covered their hair. “They would walk behind you and say: ‘ Cover your face, cover your face,’” said her friend, Lina Bulbul, 26.
Now, the women rarely see the bearded enforcers and often check the calendar of the government’s General Entertainment Authority. They plan to get their driver’s licenses in June, when a ban on women driving is being lifted.
The General Entertainment Authority, created in 2016, oversaw more than 2,000 events last year, a number it hopes to more than double in 2018. The country is starting from zero. The few movie theaters the kingdom had were shut down as a wave of conservatism spread after 1979. Saudi schools do not teach music, dance and theater, and the kingdom lacks music and film academies.
It has budgeted $64 billion for the effort over the next decade.
Ameera Al-Taweel, the chairwoman of Time Entertainment in Saudi Arabia, said it used to take months to get permits for events and required negotiating with the police and government ministries. Now, it takes only a few weeks and the company’s events have doubled each year, she said. It has 28 events planned for 2018, including Cirque du Soleil, Saudi Fashion Week, a jazz festival and the opera “Antar and Abla.”
Some events have set off a backlash. A video of boys and girls dancing together at a comic book convention in 2016 went viral. But audiences have adjusted. “Now, when you go to a place and hear music, it is not weird anymore,” Ms. Taweel said.
Content is still vetted beforehand and sometimes modified. When Ms. Taweel got approval for “Shadowland,” a dance performance, a dancer in a short dress had to wear leggings and an image evoking Darwin’s theory of evolution was removed.
“Because in Islam, we don’t believe in it,” she said.
Raif Bukhari, guitarist for the Saudi jazz fusion band Mizan, used to perform only in private compounds and at international schools. His band now has gigs at restaurants, event companies and resorts. And they performed i n London this month during Prince Mohammed’s visit to the United Kingdom.
“Now the opportunities are endless,” he said.