Kabareh Cheikhats is the continuation of a project Ghassan El Hakim originally began as a theater workshop in 2014.[1] Upon returning to Casablanca from his studies in Paris, El Hakim founded with his friends La Parallèle, an art school and theater group.[7] The Kabareh Cheikhats project was originally conceived as a theater piece about men who wanted to become shaykhāt (شيخات): female entertainers who would perform folk songs and dances at weddings and other events—a popular social institution in Morocco.[3][8] The play was never written, however.[8]