The series was broadcast last week on BBC Radio 4. Enjoy. Dick
The Arabian Afternoons Series:
A long time ago and far away, there was a king called Shahrayar. Betrayed in love himself, his custom was to enjoy his brides on their wedding night and then kill them at dawn. But one woman managed to survive, night after night, by telling the king stories. Her name was Shahrazad.
The series comprises three afternoon plays, framed by Shahrazad's voice as she describes rare and strange places for her husband, the murderous king. But these places are not the markets and deserts of medieval Arabia - with the help of some of our best radio writers, she conjures the Middle East of 2010, a landscape against which stories from the original 14th century "Thousand and One Nights" can breathe again.
The stakes are high: as each tale comes to a close, Shahrazad will learn whether it has earned her a night's reprieve. Each play is a tale within a tale - the stakes are also high for the storytellers Shahrazad introduces. Taken together, the plays reflect the humour, magic and savagery of the old tales.
The Stories:
The Casper Logue Affair is based on the story "The Hunchback", found in The Arabian Nights, which deals with the extraordinary events that take place after the death of the king's favourite fool.
The Porter and the Three Ladies is inspired by a tale of the same name in The Thousand and One Nights. The three beautiful and mysterious women who take the porter in have only one rule: never ask us questions. He resists but when disguised dignitaries and one-eyed dervishes arrive and break the rule, they are all imprisoned and can only buy their freedom with stories
A Dish of Pomegranates is loosely based on the story of "The Two Viziers" in which two brothers have a terrible argument and one leaves home forever. Years later and miles away, their grandson is magically drawn to his long-lost father through the power of a pomegranate dish only his father can make, and the family is reunited
1.3 - The Casper Logue Affair:
A darkly comic thriller by Sebastian Baczkiewicz, set in Baghdad. The first of three Arabian Afternoons - contemporary plays inspired by tales from The Arabian Nights.
Junior diplomat Bob Goldacre is in trouble: the American businessman he was looking after has vanished from a Baghdad street. As the suspects pile up, Goldacre is going to have his work cut out if he wants to save his career and make sure that justice is done.
Shahrazad.........SIRINE SABA
Shahrayar..........KEVORK MALIKYAN
Aseera..............BETSABEH EMRAN
Rahim...............SARGON YELDA
Goldacre...........TREVOR WHITE
Hammond.........BRUCE ALEXANDER
Casper..............NATHAN OSGOOD
Kindermann.......RUFUS WRIGHT
Carlton.............JOHN BIGGINS
Charlene...........ALISON PETTIT
Directed by Abigail le Fleming
2.3 - The Porter and the Three Ladies:
A wild, dark modern fairytale by Rachel Joyce, set in Damascus. The second in a series of contemporary plays inspired by stories from the Arabian Nights.
It is time for Shahrazad to tell another tale to save her life. In this story within a story, we find out that if Joe doesn't find the exclusive to satisfy his ruthless editor, he will lose his job. He finds three beautiful women in Damascus but what is the truth behind their secret life?
Shahrazad ........Sirine Saba
Shahrayar.........Kevork Malikyan
Joe....................Stephen Tompkinson
Margot............... Joanna Monro
Mira................... Indira Varma
Affyah.................Jasmine Jones
Juliba..................Melissa Advani
Directed by Tracey Neale
3.3 - A Dish of Pomegranates:
The third in a series of plays inspired by stories from the Arabian Nights.
Shared roots and scattered families in the melting pot of modern Jerusalem. Tired after a stressful trip, Ajib is stopped by security officers as he tries to fly out of Ben Gurion airport on his way home to the U.S. They don't think his story adds up. Can he make them believe him? And does he actually know the whole story himself?
Shahrazad .......................SIRINE SABA
Shahrayar/Vardan.............KEVORK MALIKYAN
Ajib.................................WILLIAM EL-GARDI
Orit..................................BETSABEH EMRAN
Rafi..................................ZUBIN VARLA
Howard.............................ALLAN CORDUNER
Julia.................................KEELY BERESFORD
CafÃ(c) Owner.......................STEFAN KALIPHA
Tawfik/Trader 2..................MOZAFFAR SHAFEIE
Flight Attendant/Trader 1....DAVID SEDDON
Protestor...........................RUFUS WRIGHT
Directed by Mary Peate
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