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Following training from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and over three decades of experience in film and theatre, actress Sirine Saba is ready to undertake perhaps her biggest professional challenge yet.
The Palestinian-Lebanese star will play Professor Pomona Sprout in the new HBO Harry Potter series, stepping into the shoes of beloved British comedic actress Miriam Margolyes in the original films. As head of Hufflepuff House and the Herbology department, she will play a pivotal role in the story as it unfolds, particularly in the seasons that follow books two and seven.
Born in Beirut, Lebanon, during the civil strife in the ’70s, Saba and her family initially lived in the capital city before moving to Cyprus at the age of eight. The actress credits a part of her talent to her heritage, explaining to The Independent, “Having grown up in a world where hot feelings are very natural and are expressed quite willingly, it gives you a shortcut to accessing those aspects of a personality. I feel that the more international aspect of my life and upbringing has opened me up to a larger pool of emotional availability.”
Alongside her many roles in British film and TV, as well as stints recording audiobooks, appearing on radio and the like, Saba has also worked on projects close to her roots. She has performed on British stages in several productions from and about the Arab world over the years.
Highlights include Palestinian playwright Dalia Taha’s Fireworks about resilience in a Palestinian town amid airstrikes, Hassan Abdulrazzak’s Baghdad Wedding set in Iraq during the invasion, and Omar El-Khairy’s The Keepers of Infinite Space following a Palestinian bookshop owner who gets in trouble with the law.
Most recently, she was a part of Voices from Lebanon, a show about Lebanese women’s experiences amidst unrest in their country owing to the war. Organised by theatre charity Seenaryo, the show spanned eight monologues providing insight into the multitude of the Lebanese experience.
Sirine was invited to deliver one such piece, poignant in its juxtaposition of dark humour with a lighthearted tone as women in a WhatsApp group complain about the everyday indignities of war and displacement. The material recalled aspects of Saba’s own childhood in Beirut.
The first trailer for the series dropped earlier this month. The cast and crew have already returned to filming for season two, which will see Sirine Saba play a central role in treating injured students through her expertise in the medicinal values of plants and herbs.
In the Middle East, the series will premiere on OSN+ this Christmas.
