Iftah Ya Simsim returns with new cast and characters

Iftah Ya Simsim, the Arabic version of Sesame Street, returns to television later this year with new characters and a cast that includes children from schools in the region. We meet the team behind the rebooted programme.

Stars from Sesame Street will be joined by a camel and a penguin in the new series. Courtesy Iftah Ya Simsim
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Iftah Ya Simsim was the Arabic adaptation of the global favourite Sesame Street, featuring Jim Henson’s Muppets. Launched in 1979, it was made in partnership with the American creators, with the production based in Kuwait.

The educational kids’ show, whose title translates to “Open Sesame”, was incredibly popular in the Middle East, but production was halted in 1990 at the start of the Gulf War and never restarted.

The show remained in limbo for two decades until, in 2010, Sesame Workshop and the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States began talking about relaunching Iftah Ya Simsim.

Following two years of pre-­production research and preparation, including close collaboration to ensure the show would meet educational and production standards, ABEGS and the Sesame Workshop reached an agreement to bring the show back to Arab television, with content suitable for a new generation of children.

The show was backed by the Mubadala Development Company, and the production company Bidaya Media was established at twofour54 Abu Dhabi specifically to produce the show.

Nathalie Habib, from the show’s studio producer Blink Productions, takes up the story: “We found out back in October 2012 that the revival was happening. My company has been in talks ever since and we’ve been involved ever since the writing stage.

“The producers have invested a lot in creating original content and recruited 13 writers from all across the Gulf. We were taught very specifically how to write for Iftah Ya Simsim. Everyone from the writers to ­directors and producers had to go through training to get to the long-­standing Sesame Workshop standard.”

The 42-day shooting schedule for the 26 episodes that will make up the first season of the show began on February 28 at twofour54’s Studio B. However, pre-­production began in March last year, and Habib says one of the key challenges was designing a set and creating new characters that would resonate with audiences across the Middle East.

“We wanted a common thread for all Arab countries, so we came up with the idea of a playground, plus a workshop that is home to the human lead, Rashid, an engineer who has a tool workshop,” she says.

“The other human lead is Amal. She takes care of the library, which is the intellectual side to the show, and she is the mother figure for the Muppets.

“The Muppets are a mix of new characters and old ones renewed for today’s kids. A lot of people say, ‘But that’s not the Nu’man [a Muppet camel character created for the original run of Iftah Ya Simsim] I remember.’ We say, ‘That’s because this show isn’t for you.’

“We’ve worked closely with the Jim Henson Workshop on the redesigned and new characters, and a lot of opinions have been heard before a decision is made.”

Habib says that her favourite new characters include Jamilia, a beautiful camel with luscious eyelashes, and a penguin ­character, appropriately representing an expat.

As with the original show, the new episodes will feature a song in each episode, some brand new and some reworked from the original, and a revolving cast of children from schools around the Gulf – the only stipulations being that they must have their parents’ permission and speak the ­classical Arabic in which the show is performed.

Iftah Ya Simsim is due to begin across the region on free-to-air channels (one of the producers’ stipulations is that the broadcasts can reach as large an audience as possible) in September

Child’s play

Two of the local children who will appear on Iftah Ya Simsim talk about how they came to star on the show and what it was like appearing alongside The Muppets.

Mohammed Morid Faraj

Age: 11

Nationality: Palestinian

“My uncle knew someone on the show who told him they needed some children to join the show. He told my dad and when he asked me, I said yes straight away. To be on ­television is awesome.

“I am happy because I got to spend some time on the show with Nu’man, Mansoon and Gargoor. I love playing with Gargoor. Whenever I am in the studio, he tries to bite me. I saw some of the English episodes but I preferred to watch the old Arabic ones that came on television before I was born. I watch them on YouTube.

“The biggest change from the old Arabic show to this one is having the Cookie Monster in there.”

Wadeema Khalid

Age: 8

Nationality: Emirati

“I love playing in the Simsim garden. It’s colourful and very friendly.

“I got on the show when the producers came to our school [Al Shohub School in Khalifa City A] and asked if any one of us wanted to be in the show. I said, ‘Yes, I would love to join’. They asked me what my hobbies are. I said I like acting. Then they told me to run towards them and say, ‘How are you? Where is Nu’man? Where did he go?’“

In the show the kids dance, sing and act.

“When I grow up, I want to be an actor. I am so happy to be on the show and my family is excited to see me on the show.”

cnewbould@thenational.ae

sasaeed@thenational.ae