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Islamic Tourism Gaddafy: A Living Myth provided an insight into the Libyan mindset and Arab culture. There were no free seats on the first night of the performance and the singers received a standing ovation from Western and Arab members of the audience.
The final chorus line summarises the enigma of the Libyan leader – nobody either in the Middle East or the West knows who he is.
The audience is given a penetrating flash of insight into the major events in Libyan history and Gaddafy’s life: the Italian occupation, the discovery of oil and America’s greed to get its hands on the oil wealth, King Idriss sell out to the West, the coup which brought Gaddafy to power, the philosophy of the Green Book and the instigation of peoples authority through the revolutionary committees, the confrontation with the West, support for the armed struggle throughout the world and the rapprochement with the West.
Keep it simple seems to be the slogan of the libretto written by Shan Khan a Scottish-born Muslim of Pakistani origin. The lyrics, spoken rhyming poetry rather than conventional opera songs are witty and easy to understand. “The sand is our landâ€Â, the Bedouins in the dessert tell a representative from Occidental. “You can keep the sandâ€Â, replies the oil man after concluding his deal with ‘Salah’ the Libyan oil minister who puts money before nationalism and principles.
But simplicity and directness must not be confused with naivety. The characters are stereotypes who talk in clichés to draw attention to universal themes: the heroic struggle against foreign invaders, the corrupting influence of money, the desire to hold on to power, the dilemma of compromising a vision that will never become a reality, the search for individual identity and the power of myths be they perpetuated by the West or the East.
The world is not black and white but Gaddafy and Reagan are portrayed as characters who cannot see the shades of grey. “All this hoaxus pocus doesn’t sharpen my focusâ€Â, says Reagan when his advisers try to explain the complexity of Gaddafy’s ideology. The oversimplification of complex issues and the resort to simple, inadequate solutions – Reagan’s attempt to assassinate Gaddafy, illustrates the dangers of not seeing the endless shades of grey
In the opera Gaddafy refers to the West’s belief that he has more weapons and influence then he actually has. He is amused this reinforces the myth and does nothing to remove the mystique from his real self as he sings “Who am I?â€Â
The producers must be congratulated for a magnificent use of archive film as a backdrop throughout the opera. The unique production combines live music, theatre and film in a multi-media production enhanced by authentic costumes. Intelligent use is made of narration in the form of news flashes sent by a Western correspondent with his trade mark camera and cynical view of every event.
There is no fear of portraying sensitive issues: the Lockerbie bombing, the killing of WPD Yvonne Fletcher during a demonstration outside the Libyan Embassy in London and the assassination of Libyan dissidents in London. Gaddafy’s female body guards, stunningly beautiful women in army fatigues and boots sing “God bless our sweet Leader, he gave us the Jamahiirya†(state of the masses) and perform dance sequences with karate moves.
Gaddafy: A Living Myth is an English National Opera/Asian Dub Foundation collaboration jointly commissioned by the ENO and Channel 4. Conceived by composer Steve Chandra Savale of ADF it has a libretto written by award-winning theatre and television playwright Shan Khan.
The cast comprises an ensemble of singers, actors and dancers drawn from various performance backgrounds. Taking the lead as Gadday is stage and screen actor Ramon Tikaram well known for his role as Ferdie in BBCTV’s This Life. Suuporting him in principal roles are Riz Ahmed as Salah, Minister for Oil; Martin Turner as Ronald Reagan; Abdi Gouhad as King Idris; Nicholas Khan as Jalloud; Ben Bishop as Mr Mimster; David Cardy as a news reporter; Sharon Duncan-Brewster as Fatima; Bridgitta Roy as Gaddafi’s mother; Nigel Cook as a politician, plus a chorus of actors and dancers.
Who is Gaddafy? Can Gaddafy: A Living Myth really be called an opera or is it a unique as yet unclassified genre? Did the Libyan government fund the production? These are some of the unanswered questions which may well give rise to further myths. | 
