Love Omar: Hannah Khalil’s Play Revives Omar Sharif’s 1983 Chichester Visit

In 2026 Hannah Khalil recalled queuing at Chichester Festival Theatre when she saw a photograph of Omar Sharif in costume. She asked, “Omar, what the hell are you doing in Chichester?” The query sparked a research project that became the play *Love Omar*, imagining Sharif backstage during his 1983 appearance.

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Sharif headlined the 1983 Chichester staging of Terence Rattigan’s *The Sleeping Prince*, later moving to West End. The theatre had just lost its Martini sponsor, creating a funding gap. Khalil notes the car park filled with excited fans and women awaiting Sharif, highlighting his box-office draw.

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Khalil wrote the play; her husband Chris White directs. The script draws on interviews with Debbie Arnold, artistic director John Gale, actor John Challis, actress Ishia Bennison (Sharif’s dresser), and Frances Ruffelle, a cast member in the 1983 production.

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Khalil spent years researching archives and conducting interviews. Arnold recounted Sharif darkening his moustache with dye, leading to a comedic onstage kiss that made audience laugh. Bennison recalled Sharif kissing her hand at opening-night party and calling her beautiful. Khalil noted Sharif’s backgammon lessons and surge of international fan mail that overwhelmed post office.

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*Love Omar* shows how celebrity casting can mitigate a theatre’s financial shortfall, with Sharif’s 1983 draw offsetting loss of Martini sponsor. The play also foregrounds backstage realities, reflecting Khalil’s fascination with artifice versus polished auditorium.

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Khalil said research stems from a love of archives and a desire to explore backstage “artifice” that separates audience’s safe auditorium from gritty backstage. Chris White highlighted his Chichester roots and his role shaping production. Management noted Sharif’s 1983 engagement as a draw that eased post-sponsor funding gap.

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• “I was like: ‘Omar, what the hell are you doing in Chichester?’” — Hannah Khalil, Playwright

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• “I really love getting into an archive and interviewing people,” — Hannah Khalil, Playwright

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• “She told me they got on well until the first night performance when no one knew that he had dyed – or put something on – his moustache to make it darker. There’s a moment when they kiss and she breaks away and the audience just laughed. She didn’t know why but it was because she had this black mark on her face … There was some tension between them because she wanted him to stop dyeing it, but he denied doing it.” — Debbie Arnold, Actress

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• “She went to the opening night party where Omar kissed her hand and told her she was beautiful,” — Ishia Bennison, Actress

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Rehearsals for *Love Omar* are underway under White’s direction at Chichester Festival Theatre, with a planned opening later in the 2026 season, bringing Sharif’s 1983 episode to modern audiences.

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