Hakawatis: Women of the Arabian Nights

Shakespeare’s Globe and Tamasha are delighted to announce the premiere of their co-production Hakawatis: Women of the Arabian Nights by Globe writer-in-residence Hannah Khalil (The Fir Tree, Henry VIII, Globe). Tamasha Artistic Director Pooja Ghai returns to the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse Pooja Ghai to direct Hakawatis following her acclaimed production of Lions and Tigers in 2017.

Hakawati. 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 says: “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!”

Director Pooja Ghai says: “I am thrilled to be returning to the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse to direct Hannah Khalil’s Hakawatis – a bold and passionate new play that celebrates the power of storytelling by reclaiming the original tales of 1001 nights. Since the dawn of history stories have created empathy, understanding and community. Here they become the weapon against a King who seeks vengeance, they become tools to subvert the establishment and the patriarchy, they are the rallying cry for united action amongst the women who remain in captivity. They release the hope, nourishment, vulnerability, strength, love and conviction that these women have to change themselves and the world around them through the power of their collective imagination.”