Humanities 1301

Event Presentation

Gayle Jackson

ARABIAN NIGHTS

DescriptionArabian Nights is a play by Mary Zimmerman.

Performed at Sam Houston State University

In the Showcase Theatre .

The play opens with the King having his Queen and her lover put to death. He believes that all women are unfaithful so he commands that every night he will marry a virgin and that she will die at dawn before she can betray him.

This goes on for some time until there are no

more virgins left except for the Vizier’s two young

daughters. The King commands him to bring his

oldest daughter and to come for her in the

morning with her burial shroud. Scheherazade is

brought by her father but she tells him not to

worry, that she has a plan. After the wedding

before they retire her younger sister pleas with

the King to allow her sister to tell her one last

story before she dies. The King agrees, but he

becomes so wrapped up in the exquisite way that

n

Schherezade tells the story he is unprepared

when she stops. He asks why she has stopped

and she tells him it is morning and her time to and

that her father is waiting. The King wants to hear

the ending of the story so he tells her father to

come back tomorrow. The next night she

finishes her story and as the King compliments

her on the story her young sister states that it is

okay but not as good as another story she has

told. The King bids her to tell the next story,

which is again not finished before daylight.

This continues on, with her stories teaching the

King about forgiveness, justice and love. By the

end of the play he has learned to love

Scheherezade and spares her life and she

remains his Queen.

Analysis

The play is performed with a shallow

background and heaps of pillows on the floor

on the left and right sides, in front of the

audience. When not performing, this is where

the actors sit and lay, able to watch the

performance and interact when needed.

Interpretation

The play is performed in two acts. The first story

is of the Madman and Perfect Love. I felt this is

the best because without him realizing it at first, it

is the beginning of him learning to love and trust

again. With the story of the jester’s wife, with her

many lovers, he learns about forgiveness. The

story of the woman who out thinks all the wise

sages, he learns that women are important.

There is a fart joke thrown in for humor. And a

story of an empty bag, that depicts how far

greedy people will go.

All the stories are performed by actors and

actresses who with the addition of a hat, scarf,

cape, cane or prop can become someone else for

the story being told. Some of the stories had

some adult humor and some were risqué but over

all they are timeless when compared to today’s

society.

Evaluation

In my opinion the play was an astounding

success, as you can see from the signs on the

ticket window.

This was the first play where I got to see the

whole cast on the stage/floor and enjoyed

watching them watch the other actors perform.

The use of the stage and the props were

interesting in that everything visible had a

purpose. I liked the ending and the audience

participation in clapping for the best story. It had

special meaning to me because my son was an

actor in the play, he was the Madman and also

filled in other roles. Plus there were seniors that I

know and this was their last performance.

I liked the way the call board was set up with

the book below and the photos above showing

that they were part of the stories.

As you can see by the program it takes many

people to produce a play, countless rehearsals

and long hours of learning lines, places and

prompts. I really enjoyed the time I spent

watching the play, it took me to another time and

place and for a few brief hours I was entertained

by some very talented actors.

Works Cited :

http://theaccidentalthespian.blogspot.com/2011/0

1/arabian-nights-written-and-directed-by.html

http://www.shsu.edu/dotAsset/bf77ba97-5ded-

4131-9198-cd95611b2e49.jpg

http://houstonianonline.com/2015/03/25/review-

arabian-nights-brings-color-to-shsu-theatre/