Abu Khalil Qabbani

Abu Khalil Qabbani (Arabic: أبو خليل القباني / ALA-LC: Abū Khalīl al-Qabbānī; 1835–1902) was a Syrian playwright and composer active as a pioneer of Arab theatre at the time of the Arab nahda movement in Damascus and Cairo, Qabbani has been called the "Father of Syrian theatre", and has influenced later generations of playwrights and actors.

[3] Qabbani used to give female roles in his plays to younger boys with high pitched voices, because women were not allowed to act in theatre at his time.

His play Abu al-Hassan al-Mughaffal caused a wave of protest because of his mockery of the historical Caliph Harun al-Rashid.

Other notable relatives include British cultural historian Rana Kabbani of Syrian descent and her daughter, the writer and literary translator Yasmine Seale.

[6] Syrian cultural historian Taissier Khalaf published a book about al-Qabbani's visit in the United States in 1989 as well as about Qabbani's style of theatre.