Submissions

I received a question a while ago, regarding the donation of screencaps and stuff like that. If you have anything Elyes related you would like to share, please register on the EGB and post your submissions there. I will be able to put them up on the blog from there on!

In the news:
Elyes is set to star in a new ITV drama, called 'Identity'. The show is going to be a six-part series and evolves around a police unit formed to combat identity-related crime. You can read the article Here

I think we can also safely say that Elyes will not be returning to Waterloo Road. There is no mention of his return anywhere as of yet, and he has been written out of the intro video, which isn't a good sign.

EGBirthday Present!

I felt so bad not giving you girls a gift for all your effort and time and patience with the EGB... And I kind of had a little inspiration for a new Special... So I went looking for some goodies, and I'm pretty sure I won't let you down! :D

Thanks to the members of Waterloo Road TV who made some amazing screencaptures. Sadly, I haven't found *the* screencap yet. I'll keep looking until I do ;)

I hope you enjoy! If anyone is a fanart maker, feel free to send in your Elyes/Rob/Guppy related stuff. I'd love to post it if you'll let me!

Three years of EGB: Come Celebrate the fandom!

I just want to give a quick shout-out to all my lovely friends on the EGB who have been celebrating the EGBirthday today! I love you all and thank you so much for not deserting the EGB when things slowed down. Life is hectic and ever changing, which takes my attention away from the thing that gave me so many friends and such a wonderful time on the net: The EGB.

I'm glad to say that it survived for it's third year, and is now swiftly moving on to it's fourth. The EGB will live on for as long as there are members, and I hope they will keep coming... Especially now that Elyes is tuning up the Gabel goodness again!

So please, come party in Gabelfan land and join in the fun! Drinks and Love Hearts on the house!

Also keep watching the blog for new colours, pictures, news, and info on the new and upcoming EGB Fan Project for mr. Elyes Gabel himself!

All the best and promise to stay on top of things more,

June

Shades - Review

Something I found thanks to Google Alert :) It's a review for the play featuring Elyes. I don't have much info on it at the moment, but it's an interesting review. Not much mention of Elyes, but worth a read.

Shades at the Royal Court, review

Alia Bano's Shades at the Royal Court, about a Muslim heroine seeking
Mr Right in London, is an entertaining depiction of Islamic
Britain.

Stephanie Street and Matthew Needham in Shades at
the Royal Court
You don't go to the Royal Court expecting a romantic comedy, but under the admirable, open-minded directorship of Dominic Cooke, anything is possible these days, and Shades turns out to be something
both special and unexpected – a Muslim Bridget Jones's Diary.

You rarely see the word Islamic these days without fundamentalist following hard behind. Alia Bano's delightful play, presented as part of the Court's Young Writers Festival, offers a much-needed reminder that not all Muslims are followers of Jihadist mullahs.

Set in present-day London, our heroine seeking Mr Right is Sabrina, a British university-educated events organiser whose family hails from the North-West Frontier in Pakistan. She shares a flat with two gay male friends (one of them a Muslim) and doesn't wear hijab.

We first encounter her at a Muslim speed-dating evening (I certainly had no idea such events existed) where Sab, who already hears the ticking of the biological clock, is hoping to find the man of her dreams, or at least a man with a brain and a pulse. And in the course of the play she finds that she has to choose between the plausible, superficially sophisticated Ali, and the more devout and traditional Reza.

Sabrina's gay friend Zain delivers some provocative rants about those he calls the fundos – not least his view that Islamic extremists are largely driven to murderous violence by thwarted sexuality. But in the character of Reza, Alia Bano draws a much more sympathetic picture of a devout Muslim, who has no time for violence and wishes to be regarded as both English and a follower of Islam.

Such analysis, however, makes the play sound far more solemn than it is. As the characters set about organising a charity fashion show for Gaza, and the devious Ali attempt to put the mockers on burgeoning romance, the play proves delightfully fresh, funny and touching, as well as a genuine eye-opener into the different attitudes of British Muslims.

Nina Raine's lively production, wittily designed by Lucy Osborne on a fashion-show catwalk, can't quite disguise the fact that the plotting is a touch schematic, but the show's breezy humour and generosity of spirit make ample amends.

Stephanie Street gives a delightfully engaging performance as the confused heroine whose attitudes and emotions are constantly challenged, while Amit Shah brings both troubled decency and a lovely touch of sly humour to the role of Reza. There is outstanding support, too, from Navin Chowdhry as Sabrina's outrageous gay friend, from Matthew Needham as his likeable English boyfriend, and from Elyes Gabel as the creepy villain of the piece.

Shades proves a feelgood gem of a rom-com, deftly combining an insider's revealing insight into Islamic Britain with cracking entertainment values.

Tickets: 020 7565 5000
Telegraph Rating: ****

Waterloo Road!

Just a quick note from me. I just got reminded thanks to an add on the BBC, but Waterloo Road is coming back this Wednesday at 8.00 pm! It should feature Elyes and Luke Bailey (Sam from Casualty). Make sure you catch it!

Other than that I want to wish you all a very happy new year! All the best and I hope it will be a great year for all.

I hope we can expect more music from Elyes this new year, and hopefully the release of Boogeyman 3. I'm not expecting too much of that, but I still want to see it!

If I have the time I'll get up an Episode Review for the episodes of Waterloo Road that feature Elyes. I'm still really busy, but I'll do my best!

Best wishes to you all,

June