Shakespeare’s Globe and Tamasha announce casting for HAKAWATIS: WOMEN OF THE ARABIAN NIGHTS
Shakespeare’s Globe and Tamasha have announced the cast and company for the premiere of their co production Hakawatis: Women of the Arabian Nights by Globe writer-in-residence Hannah Khalil, running in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse from 1 December 2022 - 14 January 2023.
Tamasha Artistic Director Pooja Ghai returns to the venue to direct Hakawatis following her acclaimed production of Lions and Tigers in 2017.
Hakawati /hakəˈwɑːti/. Noun: Storyteller. From the Arabic terms hekaye meaning story and haki meaning to talk. A tyrant revenges his wife’s infidelity by wedding, bedding, and beheading a new bride every day. Years later, only five brides-in-waiting remain. Hannah Khalil’s re-telling of this classic story includes writing contributions from Hanan al Shaykh, Suhayla El-Bushra and Sara Shaarawi, and translations by Hassan Abdulrazzak.
Writer Hannah Khalil said: “It has always baffled me that the 1001 nights story cycle has been presented as a work for children in the West, when the original tales and framing device are so dark and sexual and full of moral ambiguity. So to have the opportunity to reclaim them and reimagine them afresh, working with writing heroines of mine is a great privilege. And to get to do it at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse - one of the most beautiful theatres in the world under the direction of Pooja Ghai - well it’s the stuff of playwrighting dreams!”
The cast of Hakawatis: Women of the Arabian Nights comprises Houda Echouafni (King John, RSC) as Wadiha the Dancer, Alaa Habib (Frozen, RADA) as Fatah the Young, Laura Hanna (Once Upon a Time in Nazi Occupied Tunisia, Almeida Theatre) as Zuya the Warrior, Nadi Kemp-Sayfi (The Whip, RSC) as Akila the Writer, and Roann McCloskey (NewsRevue, Canal Cafe Theatre) as Naha the Wise.
The production features composition by Kareem Samara, design by Rosa Maggiora, and movement direction by Jess Tucker Boyd.
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