Chantal Fouad

DUBAI: British art director and producer, Paul Taylor Mills works with Art For All to start the festive spirit by bringing the holiday classic, Elf the musical, to The Theatre, Mall of the Emirates in Dubai for a week starting Dec 17.

Mills is well known for many iconic musicals and his most famous is Heathers, “which is currently being performed in London’s west end at The Other Palace theatre”, said Mills to Arab News Japan.

Mills took over Elf and worked with the best cast to ensure its performance in Dubai this Christmas in Mall of the Emirates theatre, one of Dubai’s most popular shopping centres with a premium theatre, perfectly suitable to start the festive spirit and bring together families and children.

Dubai is a very diverse city with countless nationalities, religions, and ethnicities making it the perfect place for such a performance; “Dubai is a home for many different cultures and communities, and whether they celebrate Christmas or not, the festive season brings everyone together. While Dubai has a lot of entertainment options, there is a real need for quality cultural events and theatrical performances of international quality, especially for families. We have the pleasure to be running a theatre that is just the right size to support excellent international productions and still have the cosy, intimate feel our audiences love so much. Therefore, we take it upon ourselves to bring new, exciting, and high-quality content to Dubai, that is both accessible and memorable. We see it as building a community and introducing children to culture, art, and theatre” said Art For All exclusively to Arab News Japan.

Since the beginning of COVID-19 theatres have been put out of work along with almost everything else that encouraged large social gatherings; Mills talks about the importance of the theatre specifically in that time saying “after the last three years of not being able to be together and share live theatrical experiences the importance of theatre has never been more crucial. We are so excited to finally be able to travel from the UK to bring joy to families in Dubai. Elf is the perfect treat to bring Christmas magic to the UAE this holiday Season.”

Elf the movie, starring Will Ferrel, was a big hit and left an incredible impact on people during that festive season because of its modern classic nature and it “speaks to all generations with its hilarious and heartwarming story and the musical adaptation is brilliantly written and is a smash hit in London. It’s also a fantastic success in the US where it’s touring. This show has never been to the UAE before so it’s a great pleasure to be able to bring it here, especially when it’s produced by Paul Taylor Mills” said Art For All to Arab News Japan.

When asked about the challenges faced in finding the right cast for this magical Christmas musical Mills responded by saying “Finding the perfect cast for Elf was very easy. We are very lucky to have some incredibly talented performers in the UK. The show is very demanding of the actors in that they all play various roles and need to have brilliant comedy. I’m thrilled to say we have found an incredible group of performers that I hope will take Dubai by storm this Christmas.”

Elf is an ultimate favorite Christmas drama with its inspiring message about making people believe in magic, passion, and joy; its idea of the importance of family and uniting everyone during this magical time of the year makes it a truly mesmerizing musical.