Event

Arabian Nights

The Arabian Nights is a full-length drama adapted for the stage by Mary Zimmerman from Powys Mather's translation of The Book of Thousand Nights and One Night. Passionate, playful, provocative storytelling, The Arabian Nights examines the fascinating tale of Scheherazade. In the wake of discovering his queens infidelity cruel King Shahryar has soured on all womankind. Then theres no one left but clever Scheherazade. Can her 1001 cliffhanger stories keep her alive?

The Arabian Nights tells the tale of Scheherezades nightly telling of evocative tales. 1001 nights later the storyteller and listener are forever changed. A twelve-member cast enacts Scheherazade's tales of love, lust, comedy, and dreams. Scheherazade's cliffhanger stories prevent her husband, the cruel ruler Shahryar, from murdering her, and after 1,001 nights, Shahryar is cured of his madness, and Scheherazade returns to her family. This adaptation offers a wonderful blend of the lesser-known tales from Arabian Nights with the recurring theme of how the magic of storytelling holds the power to change people. The final scene brings the audience back to a modern day Baghdad with the wail of air raid sirens threatening the rich culture and history that are embodied by these tales.