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Nabil Shaban (born 12 February 1953) is a Jordanian-British actor and writer. He co-founded
Graeae
In Greek mythology the Graeae ( grc, Γραῖαι; ; English translation: "old women", "grey ones", or "grey witches"; alternatively spelled Graiai and Graiae) were three sisters who had gray hair from their birth and shared one eye and one t ...
—a theatre group which promotes
disabled
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...
performers. He's best known as the recurring villain
Sil in ''
Doctor Who''.
Early years and career
Shaban was born in
Amman, Jordan, with brittle bone disease
osteogenesis imperfecta
Osteogenesis imperfecta (; OI), colloquially known as brittle bone disease, is a group of genetic disorders that all result in bones that break easily. The range of symptoms—on the skeleton as well as on the body's other organs—may b ...
. He was sent to England for medical care, where he grew up in a series of hospitals and residential homes. He studied at the
University of Surrey in the late 1970s and contributed to the Students' Union newspaper "Bare Facts". In 1997, Shaban was awarded an honorary doctorate by the university for services in the promotion of Disability Arts.
One of his most memorable television roles was that of the reptilian alien
Sil in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
science fiction television series ''
Doctor Who''. Shaban played Sil in two serials: ''
Vengeance on Varos
''Vengeance on Varos'' is the second serial of the 22nd season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on 19 and 26 January 1985.
The serial is set on the planet Varos, whe ...
'' (1985) and ''
Mindwarp
''Mindwarp'' is the second serial of the larger narrative known as ''The Trial of a Time Lord'' which encompasses the whole of the 23rd season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast in four wee ...
'' (1986), and created Sil's laugh. He reprised the role in the
Big Finish audio dramas ''
Mission to Magnus'' (2009) and ''
Antidote to Oblivion
''Antidote to Oblivion'' is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''.
Plot
The Doctor and his companion Flip land in London in the year 2382, where the population ...
'' (2013), both again written by
Philip Martin. Shaban again played Sil in 2019 in
Reeltime Pictures
Reeltime Pictures Ltd is a British film, television and video production company and a distributor of the films of other companies, founded in 1984 by Keith Barnfather.
As well as producing corporate and business television, it has made a number ...
' web series production of ''
Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor'' (2019), again written by
Philip Martin.
He has appeared in several films, including ''Born of Fire'' (1983), ''
City of Joy
''City of Joy'' (french: La Cité de la joie) is a 1985 novel by Dominique Lapierre. It was adapted as a film by Roland Joffé in 1992. Calcutta is nicknamed "the City of Joy" after this novel, although the slum was based on an area in its twi ...
'' (1992), Derek Jarman's ''
Wittgenstein
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrians, Austrian-British people, British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy o ...
'' (1993), ''Gaias børn'' (1998), and ''
Children of Men'' (2006), and has also worked as part of the
Crass Collective
Last Amendment, formerly known as The Crass Collective and Crass Agenda, is the working title of a series of collaborations by ex-members of the anarcho-punk band Crass and others. Although Crass had formally split up in 1984, Penny Rimbaud, G ...
.
In 2011, he played the Roman emperor
Constantius II
Constantius II (Latin: ''Flavius Julius Constantius''; grc-gre, Κωνστάντιος; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic ...
at the
National Theatre in Ibsen's ''
Emperor and Galilean
''Emperor and Galilean'' (in no, Kejser og Galilæer) is a play written by Henrik Ibsen. Although it is one of the writer's lesser known plays, on several occasions Henrik Ibsen called ''Emperor and Galilean'' his major work. ''Emperor and Gali ...
''.
In 2003 he made a TV documentary titled ''The Strangest Viking'' (part of
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
's ''
Secret History'' series), in which Shaban explored the possibility that Viking chieftain
Ivar the Boneless
Ivar the Boneless ( non, Ívarr hinn Beinlausi ; died c. 873), also known as Ivar Ragnarsson, was a Viking leader who invaded England and Ireland. According to the ''Tale of Ragnar Lodbrok'', he was the son of Ragnar Loðbrok and his wife Asl ...
may have had
osteogenesis imperfecta
Osteogenesis imperfecta (; OI), colloquially known as brittle bone disease, is a group of genetic disorders that all result in bones that break easily. The range of symptoms—on the skeleton as well as on the body's other organs—may b ...
, the same condition he himself has.
Shaban has also published a trilogy of Ivarr the Boneless screenplays on Kindle, representing the Viking chieftain as a disabled Danish prince with brittle bones and unable to walk.
Shaban was nominated Best Actor in Scottish theatre in 2005, by the Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS), for his role as
Mack the Knife
"Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" (german: "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", italic=no, link=no) is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama ''The Threepenny Opera'' (german: Die Dreig ...
in
Bertolt Brecht's ''
Threepenny Opera'', a
Theatre Workshop (Edinburgh) production.
Shaban lost out to rival nominee
David Tennant
David John Tennant (''né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show ''Doctor Who'', reprising the rol ...
, who was about to become the
Tenth Doctor
The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the main protagonist of the BBC science fiction television franchise ''Doctor Who''. He is played by David Tennant in three series as well as nine specials. As with previous incarnations of ...
in ''
Doctor Who''.
Shaban's play ''The First To Go'' premièred in May 2008, produced by Edinburgh's Benchtours Theatre Company in association with Sirius Pictures. It opened at the
Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh on 23 May and toured to the
Tron Theatre
The Tron Theatre is located in the corner of Trongate and Chisholm Street, in what was formerly the Tron Kirk which had started as the Collegiate Church of Our Lady and St. Anne in the Trongate area of Glasgow, Scotland. The Tron Steeple still ...
, Glasgow; the
Byre Theatre, St Andrews and
Lawrence Batley Theatre
The Lawrence Batley Theatre is a theatre in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England which offers drama, music, dance and comedy.
The theatre is named after Lawrence Batley, a local entrepreneur and philanthropist, who founded a nationwide cash a ...
, Huddersfield.
Credits
Television
TV documentaries
*Co-wrote and presented "The Skin Horse", 1984 Channel Four
*Co-wrote and presented "The Fifth Gospel", 1990 BBC TV
*Presented "Rejects and Super Crips", Channel Four
*Presented "Children of Gaia", 1997, Milton Media, Denmark
*Writer, producer, director, host "The Alien Who Lived in the Sheds", 1997, BBC TV
*Associate producer and presenter "The Strangest Viking", 2003, Channel Four
*Researcher, co-writer and presenter "Return of the Star People", 2003, Zentropa, Denmark.
TV drama
*Ben Gunn, "Walter", 1982, Channel Four
*Sil, ''
Doctor Who'', 1985-86, BBC TV
*Bill, ''Raspberry Ripple'', 1988, BBC TV
*''The Emperor'', 1988, BBC TV
*Charlie aka God, ''Billy's Christmas Angels'', 1988
*''Iranian Nights'', 1989, Channel Four
*Tom, ''Deptford Graffiti'', Channel 4, 1991
*Alan, ''Skallagrig'', 1994 BBC TV
*''South of the Border'' BBC TV
*''Inmates'', BBC TV
*Lawyer, ''Sorry About Last Night'', 1995 BBC TV
Radio/audio
* Benn Gunn in "Treasure Island" BBC Radio 4, 1994
* Jaturi in "The Ramayan" BBC Radio 3, 1994
* "Pie in the Sky", BBC Radio 4, 1995
* Firdaus Kanga in "Trying to Grow", BBC Radio 4, 1995
* Danda in "Tales of the Great Unwashed", 2005, Resonance FM
* Sil in "Doctor Who: Mission to Magnus”, Big Finish Audio, 2009
* Sil in “Doctor Who: Antidote to Oblivion”, Big Finish Audio, 2013
Feature films
* ''Born of Fire'', 1986
* ''
City of Joy
''City of Joy'' (french: La Cité de la joie) is a 1985 novel by Dominique Lapierre. It was adapted as a film by Roland Joffé in 1992. Calcutta is nicknamed "the City of Joy" after this novel, although the slum was based on an area in its twi ...
'', 1992
* ''Age of Treason'', 1993
* ''Wittgenstein'', 1993
* ''
Slave of Dreams
''Slave of Dreams'' is a 1995 television film based on the story of Joseph in the Bible, directed by Robert M. Young, produced by Dino De Laurentiis and Martha De Laurentiis and written by Ron Hutchinson. The film stars Adrian Pasdar as Joseph, ...
'', 1995
* ''
Children of Men'', 2007
* ''Trouble Sleeping'', 2008
* ''Morticia'', 2009
* ''Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor'', 2019
Producer/director/writer
* ''Another World'' (purchased by BBC TV), 1995
* ''The Alien who lived in the Sheds'', BBC TV, 1997 (won 2 awards)
* ''The Skin Horse'' (won Royal Television Society Award, Emmy Award)
* ''Reports Action Appeal'', Granada TV (won the Co-operative Society TV Award)
* ''Gandhi; an Inspiration'', BBC Radio World Service, 1983
* ''Telephone Dummies'', BBC TV drama, 1984
* ''The Fifth Gospel'', BBC TV Everyman documentary, 1990
* ''King of the Incurables'' (screenplay), 1990
* ''Circus Nightmare'' (screenplay), 1991
* ''Another World'', funded by Arts Council of England, 1995
* ''D.A.R.E.'', Theatre Workshop, 1996–97
* ''The First To Go'', Graeae Theatre, 1996
* ''The Inheritance'' (screenplay), BFI, 1997
* ''The Alien who lived in the Sheds'', BBC TV, 1997
* ''I am the Walrus'' (one actor stage play), Theatre Workshop, 2001
* ''Crip Triptych'' (music drama documentary), 2006
* ''Morticia'' (film drama), 2009
References
Further reading
*''Dreams my Father Sold Me'' — poetry and artworks by Nabil Shaban ()
*''The First To Go: An Original Play About Disabled People in
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
'' – by Nabil Shaban ()
*''D.A.R.E. (Disabled Anarchists' Revolutionary Enclave)'' –
Play (theatre)
A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between characters and intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. The writer of a play is called a playwright.
Plays are performed at a variety of levels, f ...
– by Nabil Shaban, Robert Rae, Jim McSharry, Daryl Beeton, and John Hollywood ()
*''The Ripper Code'' – Fiction Crime Thriller – by Nabil Shaban ()
*''Diary of the Absurd'' – Surreal Fiction – by Nabil Shaban ()
*''The Saga of
Ivar the Boneless
Ivar the Boneless ( non, Ívarr hinn Beinlausi ; died c. 873), also known as Ivar Ragnarsson, was a Viking leader who invaded England and Ireland. According to the ''Tale of Ragnar Lodbrok'', he was the son of Ragnar Loðbrok and his wife Asl ...
'' Viking Historical Fiction
indle Edition
External links
*
Nabil Shaban's books at AmazonNabil Shaban's ScabsNabs YouTube ChannelNabil Shaban's 2BenefitPeople YouTube Channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaban, Nabil
Living people
1953 births
Jordanian emigrants to the United Kingdom
People from Amman
British people with disabilities
People with osteogenesis imperfecta
Alumni of the University of Surrey
English male film actors
English male television actors
Actors with disabilities
Television presenters with disabilities