Arabian Nights, Hoxton Hall

The framing tale of the Arabian Nights is legendary. At the grandest wedding of the year, amongst the music, magic and dance, King Shahryar’s tyranny looms. Every night he marries a new girl and every morning he has her killed. This cycle of violence has continued for years, but Sharazad, one impending victim, has a plan. With the executioner’s sword hanging over her neck, Sharazad starts to tell King Shahryar a story, but does not end it. Curious to hear how it ends, the king delays her execution until the following day. After finishing the tale, she begins a new one, and the cycle continues. With every tale she tells, she stretches out the thread of her life a little further.

This autumn, Iris Theatre will take the audience on a journey through the ancient world of the Middle East and into Sharazad’s life. With music inspired by Arabic history, and a set design utilising the aesthetic of souks from the time, a cast of seven actors and a multitude of fantastic puppets will bring to life Sharazad’s comic and tragic stories.

Hoxton Hall will be transformed into a magical world where the legends of Ali Baba, Ala’ad-Din and Sinbad the Sailor unfold in this new adaptation of Arabian Nights. This celebration of the cultural history of Islam and the wider ancient world promises to be a spectacular evening of storytelling. An engagement project, Encountering 1001 Nights, will run alongside the show and will focus on engaging with the local communities in Hoxton.