Synopsis

It is a well-known tale: King Shahryar, after finding his first wife in the arms of another, murders
her and her lover. Left alone, the King decides to marry a new woman eight night -- only to kill
her in the morning. That is, until Scheherezade courageously marries the King and begins telling
a wondrous tale each evening and continuing through until dawn -- when she is supposed to be
killed, except that the King always allows her to live in order to finish the next story. In this way,
she suspends her death sentence for one thousand and one nights, and slowly heals King
Shahryars broken heart, in the process.
This play is no ordinary production; a magical world is created by the actors and musicians. It is a
space where stories unfold and magic happens. The scripts states, The play is best suited to a
thrust stage with the audience surrounding and looking down on the playing area. The setting is
simultaneously the darkened chamber of Shahryar, where he sits listening to Scheherezade, and
all of the various locations within the stories themselves... All of the performers remain in full view
of the audience throughout the play, sitting or lying on pillows on the periphery of the playing
space, rising to join the action as needed, adding a bit of costume as they take on a new role.
Entrances and exits are not often indicated in the script; generally a characters first line signals
his or her arrival in the scene and the last line signals his or her departure. The action is
continuous; scenes and locations overlap and dissolve into one another with no more indication
than an actor turning in a new direction or perhaps a slight shift in the light, a new sound, or a bit
of music. Scheherezade moves easily between narrating the stories and taking on small parts in
them, and she may also shadow the various other narrators of the stories within stories. Once
characters begin to tell their own stories, they address the audience and peripheral performers
directly. The frame around the individuals story may dissolve, but the overarching frame of
Shahryar listening to Scheherezade and watching the tales unfold should never entirely
disappear. The music and sound effects are played live.
This is a non-traditional play and was originally a devised piece - meaning that it began with a
group of actors rather than a formal script. As such, many of the characters appear for only a
brief time, or are part of a story within the story of the play, or even a story within a story within
the story of the play. There are sixteen actors total, although there are forty-six named
characters. The smaller characters may be assigned to different actors depending on the needs
of each production.The actors will need to choose how to portray each character in conjunction
with the director, storyteller and the rest of the cast. Because of this, many of the character
descriptions in this study guide are just that - descriptions, rather than analyses.
**Note: It should be noted that many, but not all, of of these characters could be played by actors
of either gender.
PLOT

Long ago, the Sultan Schariar has gone mad after his traumatizing near
assassination in which his wife collaborated and died at his hands as a result. Now he
has a paranoid suspicion of women which he plans to express in a diabolical plan, and
that is to marry a woman from the harem and then have her executed the very next
morning. To prevent this, the Grand Vizier's daughter and a childhood friend of the

Sultan, Scheherezade, offers herself to be that bride. Now, she must gamble that her
plan will work as she tries to cure his madness by telling him story after wondrous story
which include the tales of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and Aladdin and his Wonderful
Lamp. All the while, the Sultan's villainous brother is making plans of his own and
Scheherezade's stories are more useful against him than anyone can anticipate.

- Written by Kenneth Chisholm <kchishol@execulink.com>

To cure a prince's murderous madness, Scheherezade tells him a series of

wonderous stories.

- Written by Kenneth Chisholm

THEMES
Greed
In a collection of stories that focuses so strongly on wealth and riches, greed
naturally arises as a human vice that characters must counter in themselves and
others. The antagonists in these tales are almost always evil, and their danger is
usually attributed to their greed. Consider the magician in Aladdin, the forty
thieves, or King Yunan's vizier - all characters who cause trouble in order to
satiate their own greed. However, the stories are arguably most profound when
the protagonists must counter their own greed. In some cases, like with Sinbad,
their victory over greed secures their survival. In others, like with Ali Baba, the
protagonists end up happy despite the vice. The main difference between the
protagonists and antagonists overall that the protagonists seek wealth in order
to better their lives; the antagonists continuously want more even when they
have enough, and refuse to share. Overall, The Arabian Nights values the pursuit
of wealth, but lays down its fair share of warnings along the way.
Hospitality
In many ancient and classical cultures, hospitality was considered sacred.
Though this collection does not make many explicit comments on hospitality, it is
nevertheless a recurrent and important theme. In particular, hospitality in these
stories suggests an individual's connection to his greater community. For
instance, Sinbad the Sailor feeds Sinbad the porter every single night as he tells
his story, and gives him a large sum of money as he leaves. Further, his stories
have an implicitly didactic purpose - he wants to teach the impoverished
porter what he has learned about life. Similarly, Sinbad received wonderful
hospitality from the many kings he encountered during his journeys.
The collection does not always present positive instances of hospitality, however.
It can certainly be exploited, usually to the detriment of the exploiter. In "Ali
Baba and the Forty Thieves," the thief captain takes advantage of Ali Baba's
hospitality, and ultimately dies in the attempt. Without making an explicit

comment on the theme, The Arabian Nights reflects its culture by presenting
hospitality as sacred.
Contests and Competition
The protagonists of many of these stories take competition very seriously; the
most prominent example is in "The Three Princes and the Princess Nouronnihar."
All three princes universally accept the idea of competing for the princess's hand
in marriage, despite their family connection. There are also instances of less
healthy competition, as between Ali Baba and Cassim. (Often in these stories,
poor men see themselves as in competition with richer men.) In most cases,
however, a competitive spirits helps men to discover their inner strength and
thereby prosper. Competition was considered one of the best ways for a man to
prove his honor and strength, and this idea is very much reflected in the tales
of The Arabian Nights.
The Power of Storytelling
Storytelling is arguably the collection's most poignant and lasting theme. In the
frame story of The Arabian Nights, Scheherazadebelieves that the power and
intrigue of her stories will be able to keep her husband from killing her or any
more of his wives. This sentiment - that stories are not only entertaining but
powerful, capable of changing people - is reflected throughout the many stories
she tells. One can read the collection's stories as various attempts to
convince Shahrayar to change his ways, and can see in the multiple framings the
importance of constructing various narratives to help us understand ourselves.
For instance, Sinbad believes that his stories will help lead the impoverished
porter to a better understanding of the world. Further, stories are very often used
as a means of persuasion, such as in "The Three Apples" and "The Fisherman and
the Jinni." The works in this collection emphasize the power behind words, and
reflect how important storytelling was in Islamic society during this time period.
Without them, hope would have been lost in a number of different cases.
Rise to Riches
Many of the Arabian Nights stories tell of men who rise from poverty to wealth
and prosperity. This is evident through Aladdin of "Aladdin's Lamp," Ali Baba of
"Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," and Sinbad in "The Seven Voyages of Sinbad
the Sailor," among others. In each of these stories, the protagonist begins with
very little to show for himself, but manages to rise in society both through luck
and perseverance. In fact, many of the characters experience good fortune, but
must capitalize on that good fortune in order to succeed. Many characters fall
back into poor luck after initially securing a fortune, but manage to recapture it
through such perseverance. The idea of a common man rising in status was not
only a popular concept during the Islamic Golden Age; the idea that we can
overcome our societal standings and attain wealth is popular even today and will
most likely remain popular long into the future.
Luck and Good Fortune
Usually, a character finds success in these stories through some rare stroke of
good luck. Ali Baba just happened to be in the vicinity of the robbers when they

opened the cave, so he knew how to access it and take treasure. The vizier Ja'far
in "The Three Apples" happened to find the slave who was responsible, therefore
avoiding his own execution. In these stories, the power of luck and fate is
explored very often, because people everywhere love to believe that good
fortune can befall anyone. And yet most of the stories add one twist to the
theme - in most of these cases, the characters have to capitalize on the luck in
order to succeed. For instance, Aladdin falls into good luck several times, but has
to use his cleverness and perseverance to eventually come out on top. Luck
(good or bad) affects us all, but the most successful of us know take advantage
of whatever befalls us.
Adventure
A common theme of adventure and daring is present throughout nearly all of
these stories. In "The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor," Sinbad has a thirst for
adventure on the open sea that cannot be quelled with merely a voyage or two;
he goes out trading on a ship seven times before he finally decides to quit
seeking excitement. Other major characters regularly face obstacles that test
their wits, strength, and agility, all elements of adventure tales. Adventure
stories such as these will always be appealing to readers, since we often like to
imagine our lives as more exciting than they are. What is remarkable about The
Arabian Nights is that the stories comment so poignantly on universal human
nature even in the midst of such extraordinary adventures.
Summary
Once upon a time, there was a great king, who had his reign from Persia to
Arabia. The king had two sons named Shahryar and Shah Zaman. After the death
of the king, Shahryar the elder son ascended on the throne of Baghdad. Whereas
the younger son, Shah Zaman ruled over Samarkand.
Both the brothers ruled their respective kingdoms with wisdom and justice. They
were loved and respected by their subjects.Thoroughly busy with their
administrative responsibilities, the two brothers could not meet each other for
twenty long years. Shahryar had a long crave to see his beloved brother. So one
day, he sent his Wazir with a letter and numerous splendid gifts to his younger
brother Shah Zaman. In his letter to his brother, Shahryar expressed his earnest
desire to see him.
After days of long journey through the deserts, the Wazir reached the court of
Samarkand. He presented the letter and gifts to the king. The warmth of the
letter sent by his beloved brother Shahryar, made him jubilant. He became
nostalgic remembering his elder brother. Shah Zaman at once accepted the
invitation. He decided to go to Baghdad to see his brother. Shah Zaman
requested the Wazir to stay in Samarkand as a royal guest for three days.
Meanwhile, Shah Zaman collected a good number of rich gifts for his brother and
asked his officers to make the necessary preparation for the long journey.
Shah Zaman was ecstatic at thethought of meeting his brother. On the fourth
day, he had to leave for Baghdad. However just before leaving for Baghdad,
Shah Zaman chanced to witness the unfaithfulness of his wife. Shah Zaman saw
his wife expressing her love to one of her slaves. Raged and shocked by the

unimaginable sight, Shah Zaman took out his sword and chopped off his wifes
head at once.
Shah Zaman loved his wife very much. The incident had shattered him.
Immediately after the incident, he set out for Baghdad. But all his happiness had
vanished. He was thoroughly grief stricken. The sorrow and bitterness turned
Shah Zaman pale and weak.
When Shah Zaman reached Baghdad, Shahryar gave him a warm and splendid
welcome. The brothers hugged each other passionately. However, the grief
stricken pale look of Shah Zaman worried the elder brother Shahryar. When the
two brothers sat all alone, Shahryar asked, Dear brother! Your pale and grieved
look is worrying me. Whats ailing you?
Shah Zaman hid his distress and made an excuse. He said, Dear brother, Im not
at all worried. The long and tiring journey is the culprit. Im quite hale and
hearty.
However, Shahryar was not convinced with the reply. So he called the royal
physician and asked him to treat his brother. The physician tried various
medicines one after another. However, all the medicines and other treatments
went in vain. Shah Zamans condition did not improve. Most of the time, he
would live quietly in the palace and refuse to enjoy different flavours of the life.
One day, Shahryar chalked out a plan for hunting and invited his brother to
accompany him. But Shah Zaman showed his unwillingness and chose to stay
home.
In the absence of his brother, Shah Zaman witnessed the similar sight. which had
shattered him. His brothers wife was also unfaithful and wicked. She too was
involved with one of her slaves and desired to marry him.
This shocking incident proved wonder remedy for Shah Zaman. He overcame
from his sorrow. He thought, Im not the only one who has unfaithful wife. There
are many others like me. The incident strengthened his belief that women are
evil, wicked and unfaithful.
The fact that he was not the only unlucky man who was cheated by his wife, but
was one among many unfortunates, helped him in recovering fast.
When Shahryar returned from his hunting trip, he found his brother hale and
hearty. Shahryar was very happy to see his brother cheerful.
Later on, Shah Zaman disclosed to Shahryar what he had witnessed in his
absence. Shah Zaman also unearthed the ugly secret behind his pale and
shattered condition.
Mad out of anger, Shahryar at once rushed to his wife and chopped off her head.
The angry Shahryar then took a wild oath, Everyday Ill marry a maiden for a
night. Next day, early in the morning, she will be killed. This way, I will never
provide any opportunity to my wife to betray me. After few days, Shah Zaman
returned to his kingdom.
Shahryar remained adamant on his insane oath. He called his Wazir and apprised
him about his oath. Shahryar said, You have to bring one young maiden

everyday and make her my bride for the evening. Make sure that she will be
killed in the morning.
The kings cruel and crazy oath astonished everyone. People were frightened but
what they could do. The cruel practice started. Each morning a young beautiful
maiden was hacked to death. It went like this for years. Parents of the young girls
started fleeing from the kingdom. Soon the kingdom was totally bereft of young
girls.
One day, the Wazir returned home anxious. The Wazir had two beautiful
daughters named Shahrazad and Dinarazad. Shahrazad, the elder daughter was
exceptionally wise, humble and soft spoken. Besides this, she was a voracious
reader and a learned person. When Shahrazad noticed her fathers tensed and
perturbed face, she asked, Father, you are looking unusually disturbed. Whats
the reason for your worry?
The Wazir said, Dear daughter, the king has ordered me to bring a bride for
tonight. However, not a single young girl is left there in our kingdom now. Shaken
by the possible death, all the parents of the young girls had left the kingdom with
their daughters. Now if I go to the king without any bride, he will chop off my
head for not obeying his order.
Shahrazad said, Father, please dont worry! Take me to the king as his bride.
Astonished to hear this, the Wazir exclaimed, How can I do this? Dont you know
what end do the kings brides meet?
Shahrazad said calmly, Im fully aware of what fate the brides meet, my dear
father! Even then, I emphasize you to produce me as the kings bride. I am
confident that my wisdom, will force the king to change his thought regarding
women. In case I fail to do so, Ill have a satisfaction of dying for a good cause.
However, the argument laid by Shahrazad was not at all acceptable to the Wazir.
He was not ready to send his daughter to meet such a cruel fate. He said angrily,
If you will not obey me, you will have to face the same misfortune, which was
faced by the farm owner, the master of the bull and the donkey. Shahrazad
asked, O father, whats the tale of the farm owner? The Wazir began the tale.