The Arabian Nights

At Lafayette College, our production of The Arabian Nights was an ancient story with a modern approach. This was an opportunity to reimagine a famous collection of stories in the context of modern Iraq with an Iraqi woman recounting the stories to an American soldier. Through this lens, the stories gained a different political and cultural perspective. Set in a modern Iraqi bazaar where old and new worlds collide, the passageways in an old converted mosque and the barrage of sights and sounds of a modern outdoor market created a rich visual landscape. The fantastical stories were created using objects and wares from the various booths and sellers in the market setting.