No, we’re not describing a dystopian future where all the Donald Trump critics have mysteriously disappeared, Donald has become immortal and will rule America forever (sorry for the nightmares), we’re describing the setting for The Royal Lyceum’s festive production of 'The Arabian Nights'.
The new take on the old classic, adapted by Suhayla El-Bushra and directed by Joe Douglas, had its world premiere at The Lyceum at the end of November.
The play follows protagonist Scheherazade (Rehanna MacDonald), a child who enchants the cruel ruling sultan (Nicholas Karimi) with her fanciful legends and stories ranging from genies and Sinbad to chess-playing monkeys. Scheherazade’s mother is one of those imprisoned under the relentless laws of the sultan, and though the play is really a series of fun little stories which run one after another, the overarching narrative is of the young girl’s quest to free her mother.
It’s a production which is aimed at families looking for a festive theatre trip and is child-friendly - the language is simple and the performances over the top for a lot of the production.