ARABIAN NIGHTS | THEATRE REVIEW
Sherman Cymru, Cardiff, Tues 9 Dec
The Sherman has gone full story-ception as their show Arabian Nights takes on the tricky task of presenting a story, within a story and (sometimes) within another story.
Young woman, Shahrazad (which sounded, to me, distractingly like ‘Charizard’) has a talent for telling tales. She regales her younger sister, Dinarzad,with stories of thieves, jealously and magical creatures. The two girls live happily with their father – who is the Vizier to a good and happy King… until an act of lust changes the kingdom.
The King’s beloved wife betrays him, and breaks his heart. The King sends his wife to the headsman to be executed and swears an oath that he will save himself from any future betrayal by only ever marrying for one a day. Marrying a different girl every night, the King orders their execution the next morning.
One night Shahrazad convinces her father to offer her up to marry the King, determined to put an end to the succession of murdered wives.
Shahrazad tries to change the King’s ways by telling stories to him each night, delaying her eminent execution. She narrates tales that have now gone down in history; including Ali Baba and the forty thieves and Sinbad the Sailor.
Most of the actors in Arabian Nights were also musicians, and would mix playing their instruments and acting. I’m a big fan of bringing the music out of the orchestra pit and making it an integral part of magic of the show, and the cast of Arabian Nights did a great job with it.
I’m sure finding performers that are both good at acting and musically talented can be a bit tricky but Casting Director Kay Magson chose well. Joanna Hickman, who played little sister Dinarzad and many other roles, was outstanding. She took on multiple roles seamlessly and I was drawn into every reincarnation.
Pete Ashmore’s characters were also fun to watch, particularly his authoritative Captain of the thieves, and Keiron Self stood out as an actor thoroughly enjoying his roles (most notably when playing the odd old man on the roadside), however he was also able to bring a well measured sadness to his part as a father fearing the fate of his daughter.
The real star of the show, however, was the stage. The sand covered set felt like you were dropped right into an ancient Arabian world, and the well thought-out lighting changed the tone of the show in seconds.
Although I can’t say I cared too much for the main plot – the King is, quite frankly, a bitter murderous misogynist and I couldn’t bring myself to like him even slightly – the stories within the play were brilliantly presented. With good performances, magical tales, beautifully designed sets and perfectly fitting music Arabian Nights was, quite frankly, fantastic story telling.
It was so captivating that I’ve now added a copy of Arabian Nights to my Christmas wishlist!
words HEATHER ARNOLD
Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, Until Wed 31 Dec. Tickets: £15-£25 / conc £7.50-£23. Info: 029 2064 6900 / www.shermancymru.co.uk
