Nottingham Playhouse

"The play, 1001 Nights Now, directed by Alan Lyddiard, set on quite an ironic background of a Christmas decoration factory was something I had never seen before. It was about 8 Muslim immigrants who could express themselves only through the content and the way they told stories about their life, religion and culture. Working illegally to save themselves from death, shame, and imprisonment or to protect their families back in their naturalised country, they would tell stories through out the working day. These stories giving a hint to their real identities. The stories that the 8 told were controversial and in some places very shocking to the extent that a few people, I believe, walked out. These stories, though, did open my eyes and got rid of the false perceptions, especially now (in light of what has recently happened in London), of how Muslims are perceived and give a slight explanation of why and in what way a minority of Muslims may choose to act. The stories also gave a more in depth look into Islam, relationships, survival and the role women have in the Muslim faith. The story I especially enjoyed was the one written and performed by Shazia Mirza. She spoke about how she was portrayed as “evil” and the “devil itself” just because she wouldn’t conform to tradition Muslim views on relationship and found herself in love with a woman instead of a man. This story was comical and served as light relief from all the other more sombre stories, but the story was still a tragic tale. The comedy incorporated into it made the story, in one way, even more distressing because it came across as if she was making a mockery of herself and the situation she found herself in, but on the other hand the comedy came across as giving the story an “always look on the bright side of life” sense to it. In conclusion I found the whole play extremely captivating and poignant and I would definitely be interested in going to see more plays directed by Alan Lyddiard."

"The performance I saw of 1001 Nights Now was on Tuesday 6th October and I saw it at the Nottingham Playhouse. The director was Alan Lyddiard and was based on Arabian tales.

The play at first seemed rather odd as for the first five minutes it was just a few people shifting some boxes about on stage, the meaning of this however came into sight later on in the play. The actors used stories to get across their points of view and to express their feelings. The stories that really stuck out in my mind were the one about he Asian lesbian woman (played by Shazia Mirza) and the man who played a suicide bomber (Phillip Arditti). These had some really strong views contained in them and really stood out against the rest of the play.

I think that the main themes in the play were about how life is for troubled Asian people and how you shouldn’t keep prejudices about people. Another theme in this production was that all the tales that they told were based on Arabian nights tales told by Sheherazade but with a modern twist to them.

The design of the set was a little strange at first. You don’t see many plays set in a factory. But I think that with the actors working in the factory between stories really enhanced the meanings behind them. At the start of the performance there were boxes littered around the stage, which the workers cleared away and then got some garden gnomes or Santa clauses out. This was one of the parts of the play I didn’t understand.

The members of the performing group did very well to just blend into the background when they weren’t telling a story but they were very good at telling their stories when they had to. My favourite performer was Phillip Ardiitti, I thought when he played the part of the suicide bomber he was so powerful and was getting into the part so much that I even saw a tear in his eye when he was recording the tape.

My favourite part of the play was the story about the lesbian woman I thought that the way that it made everyone laugh really broke the play up. As the rest of the play was mainly deep and meaningful this brought some needed light heartedness to it.

Also I think that the weakest part of the play was the raising of the gnomes. I didn’t really get what this was trying to portray and it didn’t make sense to some of the other people I talked to about it.

I did enjoy the play even with this strange part in it. I thought that it was really thought provoking and I would recommend people to go and see this play. I think that the way the director decided to set it in a factory worked really well with some of the stories but when it wasn’t needed, you didn’t notice it. That was a good point about the play. Although I was disappointed when they didn’t give out the baubles out at the end."

"Over the past few years, I have been to the theatre to see many plays, some funny, some tragic and many highly enjoyable. But without any doubt, I can say that 1001 Nights Now, on at the Nottingham Playhouse from Tuesday 4 October – Saturday 15 October, is one of the strangest and most bizarre plays I have ever been to see.

Set in a Christmas decoration factory, the story centres around 8 migrant workers. Each one has stories to tell, ranging from the tale of Scheherazade and the original stories of 1001 Arabian Nights, all the way to modern times and the oppression of both men and women in Asian cultures. The stories are interspersed with the packaging of Christmas decorations, which can fascinate for a while, but overall went on for too long, and at times seemed to lose the attention of the audience.

The whole play was filled with symbolism, some obvious, but a lot quite subtle and easily lost amongst the overwhelming amount of information conveyed to the audience. When leaving the theatre, I found myself speechless, if nothing else from all the stories I heard, and the constant bombarded of detail over the previous two hours.

There were powerful performances throughout the play, particularly from stand up comedian Shazia Mirza, who added an amusing anecdote which broke up some of the more serious and often disturbing imagery of the stories. All of the performers gave real character within their stories, and each one was unique and talented in his or her own way.

1001 Nights Now is performance dealing with important issues and strong emotion. This is done with strong language and imagery which can both shock and alarm. Because of this, I would not recommend this to anyone who is looking for a good night out, and entertainment at the theatre. It can be heavy going a lot of the time, but the ideas are well thought and presented, so generally I would say it is an interesting production."

"On the 4^th of October, I joined the Young Critics Circle at the Playhouse to go and see a production of 1001 Nights Now. The director of this play is Alan Lyddiard. He has also directed stage productions of Animal Farm and A Clockwork Orange.

The play captures eight workers in a factory who all have devastating stories to tell. They are all basically working to stay alive and, although they don’t earn much, it is the best they can do.

The actors interact with the audience more than they do with each other, telling of how they got into the workhouse and their ways of life. Some of the stories are quite funny at times and some are quite depressing, but they all have a deep meaning behind them.

The set of this play is pretty simple. Many boxes surround the back and sides of the stage, with a balcony all around. Two long tables on wheel are used and are moved around the stage in different positions throughout the play. I thought these tables were very effective, and helped the tell their stories better.

I thought the cast were great. They were:- Badria Timimi, Francisco Alfonsin, Zolfa Afrazi, Qaseem Ansari, Philip Arditti, Kourosh Asad, Reza Kianpour and Shazia Mirza. I think my favourite of them all was probably Shazia Mirza. Her story was extremely funny and she told it very well. She told of how she began to have feelings for other women and she made plenty of jokes about it which were hilarious! She is an award-winning actress and I think she is very good. I thought it was very clever how the cast worked with each other in the factory, they all knew what they were doing and worked well together.

In the play my favourite part was when one of the actors created a short video. He set up a video camera and a television so the audience could watch. This was a very emotional part and you could sense the tense atmosphere as he filmed it.

There was one weak part in the play which I found very difficult to understand. It was when a story was told with a large sheet of paper representing pages of a book. I thought this was very confusing how the actor was talking about a person being on the page.

I thought the play was directed very well. The director - Alan Lyddiard, spoke to us, (the young critics circle) before we watched the play, about how he didn’t want to cut out things like bad language because he felt it gave the play a lot more depth and emotion. I agree with him as well. You could really tell how each individual character was feeling inside.

Overall I think this is a very strong and moving play. I think I would recommend it, but only to a more mature audience as song of the stories were confusing and hard to really understand. I probably would go to see another play or production by this particular director, because it would be interesting to see his other types of work.

"On the fourth of October a mixture of young critics, theatre veterans, white middle class and first generation immigrants gathered to watch the product of seven different writer’s experiences and opinions. Directed by Alan Lyddiard, the play has evolved and changed to fit the times.

The piece is set in a factory in which workers of different racial backgrounds tell their stories. Various stories are left unfinished while others are told straight through. It would be more apt to describe them as monologues, because there is little in the way of interaction between the characters, which is a shame because it would have been interesting to see the reactions of people from different cultures to the varying stories; for instance the opinion of the Guantanamo Bay prisoner who valued life so strongly of the suicide bomber.

The theme that stood out the most for me personally was that of oppression. The oppression of the Muslim played by Shazia Mirza, which resulted in the disappearance of her girlfriend. The oppression of innocent Asians held by the Americans and thus disappearing from the face of the Earth, and more importantly, their families.

This theme was further highlighted with specific reference, in most cases, to the violence experienced by the oppressed. Despite being slightly crude, this was an honest and effective method of portraying just how difficult their circumstances were, and just how difficult and unlikely the realisation of freedom was.

The idea of setting the play in a factory was intelligent and logical. It provided a effective setting where it is likely that immigrants will work. Equally as intelligent was the seemingly conscious attempt to make the factory as plain as possible. This was not a play which required a remarkable background, because the intimate nature of the stories needed few distractions to take the intensity away from them.

As for the acting, it is difficult to argue that there was a single strongest actor, as there was no obvious star of the show. In terms of audience reaction though, Shazia Mirza was the most memorable. Using her advantage of writing her own material to good effect she combined humour with pity displaying dramatic ability.

One of the most provoking moments of the play came when the news report of the head on the bus is repeated, thus confirming the death of one of the plays most hated characters. It was unsettlingly satisfying to hear of is death, in such a distant manner after the force of the story.

The weakest moments of the play came in between the stories. Whilst the worker’s menial tasks were probably intended to be symbolic the symbolism was lost on me, and most of the audience when the workers were carrying boxes with great difficulty creating an unintentionally comical and tedious scene. Many of the stories were separated by needlessly long scenes which could have been replaced by conversation between the workers, which would have fulfilled the only conceivable purpose of the packaging; a break from the intensity of the play.

From what I could gather of the conversation with the director beforehand, he had little direct input into the play, but was more of a facilitator for the ideas of his writers and cast. He did, however keep the production simple and true to the intended format.

The play was a success. The stories which were particularly obvious in their outcome were saved by the vivid passion (shown in different ways) of the story tellers. Most importantly, the powerful themes of the play were clear: oppression, its victims and its creators were chillingly exposed."

"It’s Tuesday the 4th of October, the crisp air is invigorating, and the warm lights of the Nottingham Playhouse beckon me inside. The performance I am about to watch is ’1001 Nights Now’, devised and directed by Alan Lyddiard and written by: (deep breath) Abas Amini, Maziar Bahari, Fadia Faqir, Johan Bergman Lindfors, Paul Mattar, Shazia Mirza, Murathan Mungan, Rez Parsa and Atiq Rahimi.

The production is set in, of all places, a factory producing Christmas decorations. The migrant workers all share their stories; like a Christmas selection box it contains a fantastic variety of interesting flavours. Not all are sweet; some leave a lingering taste of political and cultural issues.

The eight writers of the stories are predominantly Muslim; this is reflected in their stories that address many themes. Some monologues that stood out for me were: Philip Arditti’s performance of a suicide bomber recording his motive and feelings to his wife and daughter on a videotape for them to watch after his death. I thought this idea was visually fantastic; the set up of the camera and TV gave every member of the audience eye contact with the character. His performance is capturing and gains the audience’s empathy. Kourosh Asad’s role portrays a man who embraced the American occupation of Iraq only to have his family bombed and murdered by American soldiers, I felt this harrowing account really brings a the audience to readdress the current issue of the war. There was one face amongst the actors I recognised and that was of Shazia Mirza; Her monologue addresses the issue of sexuality within the Muslim community; her character was victimised for being a lesbian. At times I felt we were just watching Mirza’s stand up routine but her she delivers a convincing and serious close to the tale which gives good impact and a greater effect.

Lighter moments like Mirza’s monologue keep the play form being too dark. I really enjoyed a scene in which the workers pile up great stacks of boxes to carry, this is a completely nail biting moment, the whole audience is waiting for someone to quite literally slip up and see the whole thing catastrophically fall. I was quite disappointed to see the routine go to plan.

The set is extremely versatile, blink and you’ll miss it transform from a sea of boxes to an empty stage then a sea of Santas that float to the sky. I enjoyed the way the scenery begins extremely bland except for the ’sky’, but bright and sparkly objects creep out throughout the show.

To conclude, I found the performance truly unique and eye opening. It’s not the sort of show you’d go to see for an evening of laughter and entertainment; it’s thought provoking, clever and in moments had me lost (what’s the deal with the whole empty page thing!?). I would recommend it for an intellectually stimulating experience and would be interest to see more if Lyddiard’s work."

The play was about a group of immigrants who worked in a Christmas decorations factory, packing them into boxes. Some of the stories they told were sad, some were desperate, but I think they were all full of courage and determination

The themes of the play were that: all the people that worked in the factory were poor. They had all run away from their own countries because they had, had a bad time and needed to escape.

I think the themes of the play are bought out very well in the acting and the direction of the play. Some examples of this would be: the women who, because of her faith, had to marry a violent man that she didn’t like. She sat on a long steel table though out the story, which I think is a good piece of direction because you could see her clearly and it made it easier to focus on her and you could tell that the character was involved in this story. Another would be: the woman who wanted a relationship with another woman, but when they were found kissing by the second woman’s dad, the first woman had stones thrown at her

I thought the set enhanced the play because it was made up of boxes, which I thought added to the atmosphere and feel of the play. It also looked realistic so it made it look like they were in a real factory.

I think the lighting was appropriate to the play as it helped you to understand the high and low points within the performance by dimming and brightening at appropriate times.

I think the strongest actor in the cast was Shazia Mirza because she brought her all her characters to life and made you feel like you really were in the stories. I found her acting believable, because when she played the woman who killed her husband and scattered his body parts about, she used all the right expressions in all the right places.

My favourite moment in the play was when a women in a story said that her family had moved to

England

from their country and she had learned some English swear words, because it shows the kind of effect the English language can have on people that don’t speak English

I thought that there some weak moments in the play one of these was: the story at the end of the performance when a man was playing the character of a suicide bomber, as I didn’t think that it linked into any of the earlier stories. Another was when a man was telling a story about a woman that was captured and put in a concentration camp, but was sexually abused within the camp. I thought this moment was weak because I didn’t understand why there were plastic Allah’s on the stage when he was telling his story.

I think that the director interpreted the performance as a serious play but added the lines of comedy to make it less dark and to make it easier to watch. But I think it could have done with a bit more comedy in certain parts because I lost what was happening in some of the stories, as they were too dark.

Overall I did enjoy the play because I found it entertaining and fun, even though it had a serious message to it. It shows that even though it was hard for the people working in the factory they were able to share their stories with each so they could face up to their past.

I would recommend this play to anybody who likes serious plays because it is not too dark and is easy to see why this play is as dark as it is in parts. I would go and see other plays by this playwright because I think that he can write plays that are very emotional but can make you feel like the people in his play can see a happy ending to their lives."

"On 04/10/05, I went to see 1001 Nights Now at the Playhouse theatre in Nottingham. The playwrights were Abas Amini, Maziar Bahari, Fadia Faqir, Johan Bergman Lindfors, Paul Mattar, Shazia Mirza, Murathan Mungan, Rez Parsa and Atiq Rahimi, and the director is Alan Lyddiard.

This play is about a group of eight people, who are all migrants, who work in a factory that makes Christmas decorations. To keep each other going, they all tell the group stories some are fables and myths, whilst some are true stories, and some that have actually happened to the storyteller. Through these stories, we learn about these people about their lives, their ambitions and their dreams.

I think that the main themes of this play are: different cultures and religions; discrimination and being made an outcast because of it; the difficulties of immigration and learning to survive. Through the acting, it was easy to understand and see the themes of learning to survive particularly in the story about Sheherazade, where she put off finishing her story to avoid death and of discrimination in the story of the Muslim lesbian who was forced to marry someone she wasn’t attracted to coming through.

The set showed a Christmas decorations factory that was full of boxes it was fairly simple, with two plain tables, and a metal framework round the edge of the stage on which were piled most of the boxes. During the play in between monologues, the actors would pack boxes. I think the director decided to do this to show how laborious and monotonous the work must be for those people, and I think this was a very good decision because it really helped to add to the atmosphere of the play. I also think the fact that the play was set in a Christmas decorations factory is a good idea because it shows the start contrast with the Muslim culture, whose culture is the main focus of this play. It shows that these people are probably doing work that they don’t enjoy because it is boring and means nothing to them from a religious point of view.

I felt that the whole cast did an excellent job of portraying their characters. I found all of the characters believable, and I felt that I could empathise with all of their difficult situations. I thought the strongest actor was the man who was a suicide bomber, his monologue really touched me, it seemed incredibly heartfelt - and I think it might have helped me to begin to understand the thoughts of someone in his situation, even if I don’t agree with them.

My favourite moment was probably that of the lesbian Muslim’s monologues I found these particularly enjoyable because they were humourous, which lightened the mood of the piece which was otherwise mostly very dark and serious. I also particularly enjoyed the singing in the performance, because it sounded quite powerfully emotional, but also because most of the audience would not have understood what was being sung, which, for me, re-emphasised the difficulty of immigrating to a culture that is completely unknown to you.

In this play, I felt that there were a few weak moments. Whilst I thought that showing the audience the laborious work that these people would have to do, and that this gave the audience time to reflect on what they had just heard, I felt that perhaps these sections were quite prolonged and I think that some of the audience’s minds may have wandered away from the play during this time. Also, although I enjoyed the choreography in this play, involving the moving of the two long tables, I found that the resultant locking of the tables quite distracting because it was so frequent.

I feel that the director’s interpretation of this play was, in general, excellent. I felt that I was beginning to know the people telling their stories and understanding their situations. On the other hand, one of the director’s aims was to make the play simple so that the audience would be able to understand it. I felt that in some of the initial scenes that involved shadows, this was not achieved because I had difficultly interpreting this story. Despite this, I felt that I could understand all the other stories and I think the director achieved his goal of wanting his audience to appreciate the challenging situation these people were in.

Overall, I really enjoyed this play because it is quite different from anything else I have seen in terms of different cultures. I would recommend that only an older audience came to see this play, because I feel that younger audiences would not be able to identify with the actors, and would find some of the scenes quite shocking and graphic. I would want to go and see more plays directed by Alan Lyddiard in the future because I think that he has done a very good job of presenting this play in such a way that the meaning and the emotion behind this play will be understood and appreciated by it’s audience."

A Thousand and One Stories

We all have a story to tell. Most of us never bother to tell our stories. They may not be interesting. They may be too personal. They may be too painful. For thousands of years we have been telling stories. We speak them, we write them, we sing them, we live them. Because that’s what life is; a story.

Everywhere we go, there are a thousand and one stories waiting to be found. From castles to classrooms, mountains to mouse holes, each has a unique tale to tell. If only we could understand it. Everyone we meet could tell us a thousand and one stories. From palaces to prisons, from ballet shoes to burkhas, each has seen something different. If only we stopped to listen.

We thrive on stories. If we each read a thousand and one books, between us we still wouldn’t know it all. But books and the stories they contain can teach us about the world, about people, about ourselves. The mind can live in a thousand and one fantasy worlds, without being insane. The blind can know a thousand and one faces, without seeing what is in front of them. The deaf can know a thousand and one songs, without ever hearing someone speak. The lame can know a thousand and one dances, without being able to dance. And the dumb can know a thousand and one stories, without being able to tell them. Stories have the power to let us be somewhere else, someone else, just for a moment. Stories have the power to let us be completely ourselves. Stories are very special, and personal, and wonderful, and as real as we want them to be.

Our words are in our tears and as our tears fall, our words soak into the mud of the land we have to leave behind. Who will take a handful of mud and carry it into the new life? Our tears are so precious, and our words should not be lost. We have to leave so much behind whenever we move on, and we should not be afraid to cry for them, but we can take our stories with us. So pick up that handful of mud; take your story with you and give it to the new world that you find.

“And that,” said Sheherazade, leaning back in her chair, “is the final story. I have no more to tell you. Do as you wish, for I’ll not fight you.” It was the darkest night of all a thousand and one, and the room was absolutely silent now that she had stopped speaking. Sheherazade whispered gently into the darkness, “Maybe it is time to end my story with the sunrise.”

The king could not hear her. He slept, on this, the darkest night.

"1001 Nights Now was performed at Nottingham Playhouse between the 30^th September and 15^th October. It was originally a project in Copenhagen, but Alan Lyddiard, the director and deviser, along with 9 writers with mainly Middle Eastern or North African backgrounds, and not forgetting Northern Stage, created this piece for its world premiere at Nottingham Playhouse.

Inspired by the Arabian Nights story of Sheherazade: forced to marry a king in the knowledge that she will be beheaded at dawn, like all the brides before her. Yet, she is saved forever by her incredible ability to tell a story and save the ending for another night. This modern adaptation uses all the elements of a good story (music, dance and drama) along with migrant workers in a Christmas decorations factory, wanting to enhance their mediocre job by sharing their past experiences and the issues that affect them, in the hope that they don’t forget their true identity and culture.

Themes used in 1001 nights now included different cultures, and the importance of culture in today’s society. In addition, themes like immigration, the role of women, trust, passion, survival, relationships and identity were also explored. The themes were brought out successfully in the acting, with people braking free of stereotypes, for example Muslim women: what is expected of them as a wife and questioning why it is so wrong for Muslims to be lesbian. I thought that the themes were brought out well in the play, challenging the audience to think and view their current attitudes.

The set, creating the interior of a Christmas decorations factory, consisted of a scaffolding pole structure, with a walkway piled high with boxes, surrounding the three sides of the stage. Steel tables and stools positioned centre stage were used for making boxes and wrapping and packing decorations. The steel tables were very versatile. They were used in interesting ways and sequences and were often moved around the stage. As well as for working on, the tables were often used as a starting point for a story or a prop to enhance our understanding. I think the simple yet very effective set design gave an unfamiliar atmosphere for the workers, so far from home, and was used well to obtain the desired affect during the stories.

I thought that the cast: Badria Timimi, Francisco Alfonsin, Zolfa Afrazi, Quaseem Ansari, Phillip Arditti, Kourosh Asad, Reza Kianpour and Shazia Mirza all worked really well together and their acting was believable and suited the piece. My favourite actor was Shazia Mirza: a well known Muslim stand up who brought comedy and many laugh-out-loud moments to the play, providing a good balance between the more serious and hard-hitting aspects of the play.

My favourite moments were the stories exploring the theme of terrorism, because as well as being very relevant to modern day; they showed that because of one man’s extreme beliefs, innocent people of the same race would be persecuted. Also explored was the reminder that terrorists are still real people, and this was highlighted by a man recording a video for his wife and 7 year old daughter, just before he was going to commit a suicide bombing or something similar. I also enjoyed the action scenes of work in the factory, as they were long enough to be interesting but not too long as to be boring. The whole process of wrapping and packing was intertwined with the stories, often providing an interlude between one story and another.

As for criticism, the only weak moments were the transitions between one story and another story previously started, as sometimes it was unclear. To improve this, it might be good to return to resume a position held in a previous story, just to emphasise the transition.

The way the director didn’t use any dialogue between the characters, but still managed to show relationships between them was like nothing I had seen before. The use of different languages in the play gave us an insight into someone else’s life. The director aimed to present real people, working in a factory, and to give us a glimpse of what life was like for them and what affected them, as well as question the importance of cultural differences. I thought the director was very successful in what he achieved, and I don’t think I would have done anything differently.

In conclusion, I enjoyed the play, because its hard-hitting issues, comic moments, scenes of life in a factory and magnificent stories combined to make one of the most challenging, entertaining and above all superb shows I have seen in a long time. I would recommend the play to anyone who has an open mind and likes to be challenged whilst being entertained, as the play includes some violence, language and other strong scenes. I would definitely go and see another play directed by Alan Lyddiard, because I liked the new and different style of theatre he used."

"It was with great anticipation that I went to see 1001 Nights Now, expecting, due to the involvement of Northern Stage, to be as impressed as I had been by their production of Animal Farm, which was a masterpiece of physical theatre.

Sure enough, 1001 Nights Now was a production during which I was gripped out of sheer curiosity as to what the performers would do next. The inventiveness and physicality of the piece was almost beautiful. I actually held my breath when, in a tribute to Abas Amini, Francisco Alfonsin walked slowly, deliberately forwards, placing strips of tape across his face, crying silently as he did so. A similarly powerful moment showed four male prisoners, frozen, gripping the bars of impossibly cramped cages and staring out at the audience.

Indeed, one of the main strengths of the piece was in creating visual images. For example, the scene in which a sheet of paper is suspended from the ceiling, shadows and silhouettes moving across it as the nature of storytelling is explored, is by far the most magical. A more impressive achievement, not unlike the scene in Animal Farm where the animals build the windmill, was the creation, carrying and setting down of ludicrously tall stacks of boxes, (none of which fell), to represent skyscrapers reminiscent of the notorious “9/11”. In carrying out these physical feats the performers were constantly highlighting the inner strength of the characters who carried with them, in the form of stories, entire different cultures.

In addition to being visually captivating, 1001 Nights Now is a triumph of storytelling. The deadpan humour of Shazia Mirza’s tale of two Muslim lesbians was delightful, and the story of the modern day Sharyar and Sheherazade was wonderfully done, making use of the otherwise cumbersome prop of the table on wheels.

Nevertheless, with regard to content, I was slightly disappointed. The play obviously had didactic intentions but they were unclear, so that what came across was sometimes a simplistic “West is bad, East is good” message which did not fit with the rest of the piece. It seems as though what began as a celebration of culture, human strength and storytelling became aware of itself as a love affair with the visual and tried to justify itself by flinging confused political messages at the audience. I feel the play did not need to attempt to delve into the minds of suicide bombers to convey the idea that Muslim culture is nothing to be afraid of. In revelling in the art of storytelling whereby one culture writes itself into another to survive, the play establishes a sense of something universal, something that endures; something which makes us all, simply, human."

"One of the most striking images I`ve seen in the theatre lately is of 50 unpainted plastic Santa Clauses. Knee-high and morose in their long robes, they are taken out of their boxes on an upper level in a Christmas decorations factory and stood up on the ground floor. They are then hoisted on a rail, each dangling in mid air.

And since this is a production at Nottingham Playhouse involving Iraq and Muslims, refugees, violence and injustice the symbolism creeps in eerily. Your mind switches from the novelty of benign Santas to faceless humans being hanged. One more atrocity in the mess that somehow the Arab world has become.

The play - if you can call it that - is "1001 Nights Now", loosely drawing on the format of the Arabian Nights in which the inventive bride Sheherazade escapes being beheaded by the Sultan by spinning him a nightly tale with a cliff-hanger ending so strong that she survives until the next one.

The original stories are lost, like the imprint of camel feet, in the sands of time - handed down by the people who told and retold them as the caravans travelled the Chinese Silk Road between Africa, Asia and Europe.

Here are eight immigrants - depicted by artists who themselves could give personal accounts of oppresssion and deprivation anywhere from Baghdad to Istanbul - telling ten stories by noted Middle Eastern writers. In the unlikely background of this factory in Britain they work swiftly, neatly and gracefully - packing and stacking and unpacking scores of boxes for the Christmas season.

Almost like robots, they shift long tables from one side of the stage to the other, align them, lock the wheels, unlock and realign them, set out cardboard boxes which they fill with Christmas tree baubles after wrapping them in tissue paper of red, green, blue and yellow."

"But from the distraction emerge stories told with quiet passion. Not all about homes wiped out, or torture, or people forced to flee their homeland. There is humour here, and a warm togetherness. A man whose entire family was killed by an American bomb sighs wistfully that he wishes he could have been killed with them. But there is also hilarity, with the woman who has picked up English swearwords. And we have a suicide bomber taping a video farewell to his loved ones."

"A thousand and one nights add up to roughly two and half years - the time it has taken to bring the first production of this show in Denmark to Nottingham. It is a culmination, and a beginning, of a welcome co- operation between countries and collaboration between the internationally-minded Nottingham Playhouse, Northern Stage under its director Alan Lyddiard in his final production after 14 years, and the Albany in London.

The fact that it has been done at all is a hopeful sign."

Emrys Bryson

Tom Halliday, Ellis Guildford School (10-Oct-05) [ Young Critics' Circle Review ]

Ellis Guildford School and Sports College

Bar Lane,

"If nothing else, the audience will be fully conversant with how to pack Christmas decorations by the end of 1001 Nights Now currently at the Nottingham Playhouse.

Set in a packing factory, the play is a modern-day version of the Arabian Nights tales of Sheherazade with eight migrant workers telling tales old and contemporary.

Large chunks of the play are taken up with the work process which I took to symbolise various aspects of the monotony and daily struggle shared by many refugees today.

The play doesn’t hesitate to deal with some of the trickier issues facing today’s society such as suicide bombings, the camp at Guantanmao Bay and veiled references to the twin towers with the poignant high stacking of boxes at the front of the stage.

But it also appears to give a warts and all view of Muslim society ancient and new with references galore to the oppression of women, almost as an apology for the pent-up frustration that fuels the modern terrorist.

The play abounds with well-choreographed moves as the nameless performers move boxes, wrap baubles, stack boxes and move tables.

Award-winning comedian Shazia Mirza gets the biggest laughs of the night but for the most part the play is subdued and thought-provoking.

Speaking before the show, director Alan Lyddiard said that the idea for the play was his own but the script and the finished product had evolved as the whole thing took shape.

Without a doubt, the play is challenging and thought-provoking and there are bound to be as many opinions about it as there are original tales."

Zena Hawley

"One of the most unusual and provocative projects to have graced the stage of the Nottingham Playhouse for a long time, 1001 Nights Now represents such a radical, contemporary take on that antique collection of fables we also know as The Arabian Nights that you have to abandon all thoughts of Ali Baba, Sinbad and Aladdin as you enter the theatre.

What has been whipped up here by director Alan Lyddiard and designer Neil Murray, using material by nine writers and performers drawn from across the Muslim diaspora, bears little resemblance to Robert Louis Stevenson’s description of the book as one that ’captivates in childhood and still delights in age’. Suitable for children it isn’t.

The most newsworthy component of the show - which comprises a succession of fractured "stories" delivered as a sort of break-time chat among eight workers in a ghostly warehouse - comes right at the end, when we witness a suicide-bomber recording a farewell to his daughter on video. The monologue is based on a scene in a 2002 film made by Iranian/Swedish director Reza Parsa that was hailed by Ingmar Bergman as ’one of the most astonishing moments ever created in a Swedish film’. It’s hard, though, to reach for superlatives: the cool indifference the bomber displays towards his victims leaves you feeling numb with horror.

Although frequently bleak, there are unexpected outbreaks of humour, such as when the stand-up comedienne Shazia Mirza talks us through the life of a closet-lesbian who forms a secret attachment to one of her ’sisters’ at her local mosque, her deadpan wit as sharp as a scimitar. There are also potent interludes of music, crashing fusions of eastern and western sounds, during which the cast engages in all kinds of simulated work. At odd moments, the humdrum activity gives way to visual enchantment - such as the rows of translucent model Father Christmases who rise into the air. A thoroughly disconcerting experience, all told, but not for a single moment a dull one."

Dominic Cavendish

"In 1001 Nights, Alan Lyddiard has had the good idea of looking at modern Arabia by revisiting the tales of Scheherezade. Here stories of survival - after all, the original romancer spun her fictions to stop her husband cutting off her head - give way to tales of torture, and of extinction.

In a British factory, a Muslim staff bustle about making Christmas ornaments. The images and contrasts are rich. Dozens of Father Christmas ornaments - glistening white, the size of giant garden gnomes - dangle from the ceiling; glittering baubles are rolled into bright sheets of tissue paper; cardboard boxes are packed into teeteringly high stacks.

Meanwhile, one by one people come forward to tell stories. Shazia Mirza describes lesbians holding hands under burkas [...] A woman tells of the plight of a second wife, who turns to opium and, when she finds her husband abusing their child, cuts off his head and leaves it on a bus. As the factory melts away, a man is seen preparing a video for his wife and child: he is saying goodbye to both of them, and when he opens his jacket to the camera to show a chest covered in wide tape, it becomes apparent why; he’s a suicide bomber about to go on his final mission; he does so pleading with his young daughter to keep the faith."

Susannah Clapp

"1001 Nights Now at the Nottingham Playhouse is an evening of story piled on story where illegal immigrant factory-workers, modern-day Scheherazades, one by one swing up on to metal tables and speak. They talk about slipping across the border to the West or fighting against patriarchal strictures in ways big or small: one woman pinches a male bottom, another hacks off her lover’s limbs.

The workers listen as they wrap balls and stack boxes that later open to reveal a host of Santas which are finally hoisted aloft. The West’s real presiding god, it is implied, is this patron saint of materialism rather than a redeeming Christ. The constant rhythm of mundane work helps to unify the voices of the nine writers, mostly of Middle Eastern origin.

Comedian Shazia Mirza deadpans delightfully as she laments the difficulties of lesbian love in a burkha. The rest of the cast speak with an unsentimental directness often thrumming with an undertone of repressed anger."

Susan Irvine

"It is the juxtaposition of images that makes this contemporary version of the Arabian fairy tales One Thousand and One Nights so startling. Just as Scheherazade told tales to save her neck, so the refugees who tell these stories of life and death from the Muslim world are doing so as a means of survival too. Only they are all workers in a Christmas decorations factory. In Alan Lyddiard’s production, the repetitive business of work - the very ordinariness of the everyday - masks unfathomable pain. Fat little plastic Father Christmases wink merrily in the light as dark stories of violence, love, murder and despair unfold: a man tapes up his eyes and mouth, four men are confined in tiny cages like failed Houdinis, and a father - about to go out into a crowded stadium with explosives wrapped around his body - records a message for his little daughter. This is not your average evening’s entertainment.

The cumulative power is considerable"

"Lyddiard’s production at its best suggest the real texture of everyday lives"

"Here the stories act more like messages in a bottle, cries for help and understanding from people wrecked and stranded on the sand-banks between East and West."

Lyn Gardner

"Eight writers from Iran, Kurdistan, Jordan, Lebanon, Sweden and Afghanistan. Eight skilled performers from Spain, Turkey, Pakistan, Iraq and elsewhere. 1001 Nights Now is a storytelling show with a great deal of punch, which takes its idea from the oriental narrator Sheherazade and spins a series of shrewd modern tales that have sharp political and, like the original, erotic overtones.

Each wittily written story examines the vexed cultural experience of those who form part of the new wave of Middle Eastern immigrants into Western Europe, and elucidates some of the dire problems they face both back home and on arrival. At best, it is forceful, racy, utterly cliche-free and entertaining. At the culmination, with actor Philip Arditti’s searingly earnest terrorist’s video letter to his family, it acquires real bite."

"Yet several of the tales - Shazia Mirza’s wonderful evocation of the angst of Lesbian infatuation in a Muslim context, and Kourosh Asad’s harrowing reflection of abuse in Abu Ghraib - worked really well. The team’s frenetic packaging activity serves as a series of amusing (and skilful) entractes, and the strongly delivered second half seemed a huge improvement on the more wearying early scenes. A serious and worthwhile show, whose pithy and colourful texts amount to a lot more than light reading."

Roderic Dunnett

"1001 Nights Now bases itself around the Islamic story telling tradition. Islamic immigrants working in a factory packing Christmas decorations pass the time by telling stories. The ancient tales of Arabian Nights are interwoven with pieces by contemporary Muslim refugees.

The play is framed by a story taken from the Arabian Nights about story-telling (a chance for you to make parallels with Salman Rushide and use the words ’postmodern’ and ’reflexive’ if you’re writing an essay). Sheherazade, wife of a Sultan, avoids execution by telling her husband stories without endings. The factory workers also tell stories to survive - tales of love, forced marriage and revenge, and a poignant and discomforting monologue by a prospective suicide bomber delivered to his baby daughter. Comic relief is provided by stand-up comedian Shazia Mirza, with a self-written story on being a lesbian in an Islamic country.

There is a definite ’Eastern’ exotic feel to many of the stories, but they also give an insight into the lives and minds of Muslim people. Not surprisingly, Iraq and the ’War on Terror’ are significant themes with stories relating the suspicion felt towards Muslims and the ’romantic’ adventures of Lindsey England in Abu Ghraib prison. This all sounds very politically correct but the writers have avoided the trap of being stridently political and the stories are at times complex and challenging."

"the cast pack thousands of baubles during the play - though this does give you a chance to enjoy the wonderful music which is a highlight of the performance. Fans of the music can see a special festival at the Playhouse on Saturday 8th October from 11am-5pm with music performed by the excellent Long Journey Home refugee collective."

Adrian Bhagat

"A Thousand and One Nights Now is a highly ambitious production - at times successful, at times losing its way and its audience. From the oppression of women, the war on terror, abuses at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, the Israeli Wall, the cult of the suicide bomber, and general feelings of displacement - it tries to address all the difficult issues currently facing immigrants from the Middle East.

It makes for uncomfortable viewing in parts and the laughs provided mainly by the acclaimed comedienne actress, Shazia Mirza, are welcomed with an almost audible sigh of relief.

The traditional fairy stories of the One Thousand and One Nights, dating back to the ninth century AD, are the framework for this modern tale of Muslim workers packing Christmas goods in a warehouse somewhere in Britain.

The irony of the Muslims working for a Christian festival is an obvious one. In the classic tale, Scheherazade, queen of the cliff-hanger, tells her cuckold husband with a penchant for killing his wives, a story every night. By making him wait until the following night for the conclusion, she saves herself from certain death; and after a thousand and one nights his hatred for women becomes love for her.

The misogynistic theme is carried on through the first half of the play. In the second, four men show four different faces of the modern Muslim man.

The issues raised are important and despite the best efforts of the media, this is the most honest account I have come across of the Muslim perspective in the current climate."

Nevine Malik

"1001 Nights is best known as the source for exotic fables like Aladdin, Ali Baba and Sinbad. Alan Lyddiard’s modern-day Northern Stage remake lacks the flying carpets and genies of the original, but manages to develop a power of its own over the course of the evening. Set in a factory where Christmas decorations are made and packed, the play presents us with a sparse set - boxes, steel tables and scaffolding - inside which eight workers pass the time on their shift by swapping tales.

The first half is light, with Shazia Mirza’s warm account of lesbian passions lurking under cover of burkhas and Francisco Alfonsin’s inventive shadow-play."

"Kourosh Asad weaves a powerful monologue from dysfunctional romance and appalling human rights abuse in Iraq, stepping gingerly through an army of unpainted Santa Clauses that look uncannily like ayatollahs. Still more potently, Philip Arditti becomes a suicide bomber, recording a testament on video for his daughter, the uncomfortable material powerfully and sensitively handled."

Wayne Burrows

"Our story is our survival. Thus it was for the beautiful Sheherazade who wove her countless tales night after night to delight her cruel husband, Shariyar, and to save her own life, in one of the first books of stories so many centuries ago.

What are the tales we would tell and which speak of modern survival, particularly for those feeling the weight of oppression? Four theatre companies - Nottingham Playhouse, Northern Stage, The Albany, London and the Betty Nansen Theatre, Copenhagen – have joined forces under the directorship of Northern Stage’s Alan Lyddiard and, in conjunction with nine writers of Middle Eastern and North African origin, revisit the tales of Sheherazade with original stories based on the real life experiences of those who seek refuge. In essence a very interesting and creative concept.

Does it work? The scene is set in a Christmas decorations factory where the eight migrant workers scurry to make, pack and shift a multitude of white boxes, all the while interweaving the stories and supporting each other in playing a variety of parts. There are the stories of female oppression, of forced marriage and rape, of suicide bombers and terrorism, of murder, and flight to freedom. The writers aim to challenge our stereotypes. They don’t shrink from portraying anti-western hatred, exacerbated by atrocities in the Iraqi war. It isn’t a comfortable night."

"It’s interesting to see coming through this production the themes which director Alan Lyddiard has used in his other productions. One of his most successful was Northern Stage’s Animal Farm, where the actors, who were also asylum seekers, took the roles of the animals in the play. They too built a tower of a windmill as the migrant workers build towers of boxes – a true moment of suspense for the audience! Power and the abuse of power are naturally themes relevant to both."

Elaine Peel